Alnus incana
Growing Information
• Plant Type: Tree
• Sunlight: Sun to Shade
• Soils: Moist to Wet
• Bloom Time: Small red catkins in early spring
• Size: 15-25 feet in height and 5-10 foot spread
Speckled alder is a common plant of abandoned cranberry bogs and other low, wet areas around the Cape. It grows quickly and has the ability to form dense thickets that stabilize soil and prevent erosion. This plant is best identified by its unique fruit structure that is a cone-like cluster filled with small winged nutlets. Old cones typically persist for a year after forming, so they can be seen in all seasons.
Garden Companions
New York Ironweed (Vernonia novaboracensis), Red Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Nature Benefits
• Nutlets provide food for many songbirds.
• Commonly used by beavers to build dams and lodges.
• Thickets provide cover for wildlife.
Native Habitat
Marshes and bogs, shores of rivers or lakes.