| Alnus cordata | |
|---|---|
| Italian Alder foliage and immature male catkins |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Betulaceae |
| Genus: | Alnus |
| Subgenus: | Alnus |
| Species: | A. cordata |
| Binomial name | |
| Alnus cordata Desf. |
|
Alnus cordata (Italian Alder) is an alder native to southern Italy (including Sardinia) and Corsica.
It is a medium-sized tree growing up to 25 m tall[1] (exceptionally to 28 m), with a trunk up to 70–100 cm diameter. The leaves are deciduous but with a very long season in leaf, from April to December in the Northern Hemisphere; they are alternate, cordate (heart-shaped), rich glossy green, 5–12 cm long, with a finely serrated margin.
The slender cylindrical male catkins are pendulous, reddish in colour and up to 10 cm long;[1] pollination is in early spring, before the leaves emerge. The female catkins are ovoid, when mature in autumn 2–3 cm long and 1.5–2 cm broad, dark green to brown in colour, hard, woody, and superficially similar to some conifer cones. The small winged seeds disperse through the winter, leaving the old woody, blackish 'cones' on the tree for up to a year after.
Like other alders, it is able to fix nitrogen from the air. It thrives on much drier soils than most other alders, and grows rapidly even under very unfavourable circumstances, which renders it extremely valuable for landscape planting on difficult sites such as mining spoil heaps and heavily compacted urban sites.
An excellent Pioneer species it can grow in poor soils and enrich it as it is capable of fixing its own nitrogen and commonly grown as a wind break.
The Italian Alder makes a medium to large Bonsai, a quick grower it responds well to pruning with branches ramifying well and leaf size reducing quite rapidly.[2]