Alder
February 23rd, 2007 by admin
Alder
Alnus glutinosa
Alder
Black Alder
Common Alder
English Alder
European Alder
Fever Bush
Owler
Winter Berry
Alder - a deciduous tree the European alder can reach 100 feet. The branches spread to a rounded crown. Broad, sharply toothed leaves, up to 4 inches long, are dark glossy green on top, pale and sticky below. Greenish-yellow male and reddish female flowers (March) are borne in separate cone like clusters (catkins). The fruits grow in roundish cones, green in summer and brown and woody in fall. The red alder resembles the European tree but has elliptical, bluntly toothed leaves.
So indestructible is the wood of the European alder that it was used to make the piles on which the city of Amsterdam and Venice′s famed Rialto section were raised. The tree′s remarkable resistance to wet rot made it a prime choice for posts and pilings in the construction of bridges and sluice gates, for water conduits, and for wooden shoes.
Herbalists through the centuries have used brews made from the bark and leaves of the alder as an astringent and a quinine substitute, and to fight inflammations and fevers. The leaves and branches also have a reputation as natural pesticides. The inner bark, boiled in vinegar and rubbed on the body, reportedly kills lice and scabies mites and dries up scabs.
The red, or Oregon, alder looks like its European cousin, which now grows wild in parts of eastern North America, and has similar properties. Alders are also valued for the nitrogen-fixing bacteria that colonize their roots and thereby enrich the soil.
PARTS USED
Bark, leaves.
USES
The astringent alder is employed most often as a mouthwash and gargle for tooth, gum, and throat problems. The drying action of a decoction of the bark helps to contract the mucous membranes and reduce inflammation. A decoction may also be used to staunch internal or external bleeding and to heal wounds. Alder is also used as a wash for scabies. In Spain, alder leaves are smoothed and placed on the soles of the feet to relieve aching. Leaves are used to help reduce breast engorgement in nursing mothers.
Both species supply natural materials for dyers and tanners and wood for smoking meats and fish and for making pilings used in wet locations. The red alder is used for furniture. Medicinally, the trees have fallen into general disuse.
HABITAT AND CULTIVATION
Alder is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Alder thrives in damp places and along riverbanks. The bark and leaves are gathered in spring.
CONSTITUENTS
Alder contains lignans, tannin (10 to 20%), emodin (an anthraquinone), and glycosides.
Source: Herbs2000
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