Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for European Alder - Alnus glutinosa   (L.) Gaertner
Members of Betulaceae:
Members of Alnus with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Family Betulaceae
Author(L.) Gaertner
DistributionApparently the first verified NC record of European Alder was by Wes Knapp on 19 May 2023, at East Flat Rock Bog in Henderson County. The small trees were common and invasive. Weakley et al. (2022) say that Alnus glutinosa occurs in the Northeast, regularly south to PA, and reported from eastern TN and southwestern VA. Other reports from NC are apparently at iNaturalist and need to be vetted.

Native to Eurasia; in N.A. in NS and Ont. south to VA, TN, and eastern KS; disjunct in MS and WA.
AbundanceAt East Flat Rock Bog, small trees were common. This plant is potentially highly invasive in wetlands and should be eliminated from this site at all costs, as it will crowd out or shade out native vegetation.
HabitatMontane seepage bog.
Phenology
IdentificationThis is the only alder to grow as a tree (vs. shrub) in eastern North America. Leaves are notably rounder than those of A. serrulata and A. crispa.
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
County Map - click on a county to view source of record.
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Wes KnappSame data. HendersonPhoto_non_natural
Wes KnappEast Flat Rock Bog, May 2023. HendersonPhoto_non_natural
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