The alder is typical for riparian forests and banks of slow-flowing streams. The wood is discreetly grained. Tangentially decorative drawings in the wood as well as radially delicate stripes are produced by faintly marked annual ring boundaries. Characteristic of this reddish-white, reddish-yellow to reddish-brown wood are frequently occurring pith flecks.

Trade names and other names

German: Erle gedämpft
English: Black alder, Common alder
French: Aulne commun, Aulne noir, Vergne
Italian: Alno ontana, Ontano nero
Spanish: Alano nigro, Aliso, Ameneriro
Dutch: Elzen
Portuguese: Amieiro
Arabic: Hhamarayah
Chinese: 赤杨

Available veneer thicknesses

0.56, 0.9 mm, other thicknesses on request

Occurrence

The home of alder stretches across Europe to Siberia, the Near East and Northwest Africa.

Trunk and bark

The alder tree reaches heights of up to 20m and more, with the trunk being free of branches up to about 15m. Diameters go up to 1m, but are usually smaller and only up to about 0.5m. The bark is greenish in young alder, later changing to dark brown and becoming quite cracked.

Characteristics and wood colour

The annual rings are of different widths and the false pith rays appear as mirrors in radial section and as darker longitudinal stripes in tangential section. Pore arrangement scattered and small. The sapwood and heartwood are indistinguishable in alder. The wood is reddish-white to yellow-red, but darkens quickly when exposed to light and air. Alder wood is often used as an imitation for precious woods.