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Hazel Alder
Alnus serrulata
33.98, -84.6
Field Notes
Description:
A multi-stemmed deciduous small tree or large shrub. Bark is thin, gray to brownish, smooth, and muscled with a fluted trunk. Leaves are alternate, simple, obovate to elliptical, 2-4” long, and pinnately veined. They have a finely serrated undulating margin and are dark green above but paler and finely hairy below. Flowers are monoecious and appear in early spring; males are green-brown catkins, 1-1 1/2” long, while females are ½” long, and reddish. Fruits are woody, cone-like catkins, ½” long, dark brown with each scale enclosing a tiny, winged seed. Fruit ripens in fall and the cones persist through winter.
Habitat:
Native to swamps and banks of North America east of the Mississippi. Because the plant resides in riversides or stream streambanks, it usually functions as a stabilizer and restorer for those habitats.
Notes:
It is also used to treat astringent, diuretic, emetic, ophthalmic, and purgative symptoms. A tea made from the bark is said to work as a treatment for diarrhea, coughs, toothaches, sore mouth, and the pain of birth. Spotted near Gilbert Rd / Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield
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