Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

green alder Betulaceae Alnus viridis ssp. crispa (Chaix) DC. ssp. (Aiton) Turrill Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: ALVIC
Leaf: Alternate, simple, deciduous, broadly ovate, 2 to 4 inches long, margins are finely serrate; green to yellow-green above, paler green with some pubescence (especially along the veins) below; base rounded to cordate.
Flower: Species is monoecious with flowers are borne in unisexual aments (catkins); preformed male aments are long, slender, and pendent; female catkins are small and hang in long clusters from long stalks.
Fruit: A small brown semi-woody cone 1/2 to 3/4 inch long that persists through the winter; seeds are tiny winged nutlets, shed in the fall.
Twig: Slender, zig-zag, gray and smooth with age; buds are slightly stalked to sessile with imbricate scales.
Bark: Gray to grayish green, smooth.
Form: A thicket forming shrub to 15 feet tall.
 Looks like: speckled alder - hazel alder - Sitka alder - thinleaf alder

green alder leaf image
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Additional Range Information: Alnus viridis ssp. crispa is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information