ALDER Alnus crispa

 Description: Plant

Large shrubs, to tree size; leaves fragrant, oval to elliptic; cones are small, long & slender.

Habitat:

Thickets, slopes, field edges, river banks, up to tree line.

Uses:

The Dena'ina use inner bark of alder as a tea to relieve stomach complaints & in large doses as an emetic, often to relieve fever. Alder wood is preferred for smoking fish. Inner bark also makes useable brown or red dye. Alder cones are used for making jewelry.  

Special Harvest or Processing Comments:

Alnus crispa yields brown dye. - A. incana yields red. A simple test to tell them apart is to cut off a piece of bark: the inner bark of A. incana will turn red after a few minutes.