Alnus acuminata

Alnus acuminata
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Betulaceae
Genus:	Alnus
Species:	A. acuminata
Binomial name
Alnus acuminata Kunth
Synonyms
Betula arguta Schltdl. Alnus arguta (Schltdl.) Spach Alnus pringlei Fernald Alnus ovalifolia Bartlett Alnus guatemalensis Gand. Alnus glabrata Fernald

Alnus acuminata (also called Alder) is a species of tree in the Betulaceae family. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Central America, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.

There are three subspecies; Alnus acuminata subsp. acuminata occurs from Colombia and Venezuela south to northern Argentina; Alnus acuminata subsp. arguta (Schltdl.) Furlow occurs from northwestern Mexico south to Panama; and Alnus acuminata subsp. glabrata (Fernald) Furlow occurs in central and southern Mexico.

Description

Alnus acuminata is a small tree up to 25 metres (80 ft) tall with a straight trunk up to 150 centimetres (60 in) thick. The bark has many yellowish lenticels. The leaves are simple, oval with toothed margins. The inflorescences are catkins, separate male and female flowers on the same tree. The male flowers are up to 12 cm (5 in) long and pendulous, while the smaller female flowers are green, erect and resemble a small cone. After wind fertilisation, the female flowers develop into 2 cm (0.8 in) long dehiscent, woody brown fruits. There are eighty to one hundred winged seeds per fruit, and these are liberated when ripe, leaving the dried out fruit husks on the tree.

Distribution and habitat

Alnus acuminata grows at altitudes between 1,500 and 3,200 metres (4,900 and 10,500 ft) in the mountain ranges in tropical Central and South America from Mexico to northern Argentina. It mostly grows on slopes and in river valleys. It tolerates poor soils and acid conditions, but prefers silt or sandy silt soils. It is a fast-growing tree, a pioneer species used for watershed protection and can be used for soil improvement because it has root nodules that fix nitrogen.

Timber

The timber is light to mid reddish-brown and fine grained. It is used for building bridges and pilings, for making coffins, boxes, crates, furniture and plywood. It also makes a good firewood that burns steadily.

External links

• World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. Alnus acuminata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 20 August 2007.

• Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
• Hokche, O., Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (eds.) (2008). Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela: 1-859. Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela.
• Berendsohn, W.G., A. K. Gruber & J. A. Monterrosa Salomón. 2009. Nova silva cuscatlanica. Árboles nativos e introducidos de El Salvador. Parte 1: Angiospermae - Familias A a L. Englera 29(1): 1–438.
• CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, Mexico City
• Furlow, J. J. 1977. Family 49, Betulaceae. In Burger, W. (Ed.), Flora Costaricensis. Fieldiana, Bot. 40: 56–58.
• Idárraga-Piedrahita, A., R. D. C. Ortiz, R. Callejas Posada & M. Merello. (eds.) 2011. Flora de Antioquia: Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares 2: 9–939. Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín
• López Vargas, A. 1995. Estudio de Vegetación de las Partes Sud y Sudoeste de las Provincias Mizque y Campero --- Cochabamba, i–vi, 1–152. Tesis Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba
• Vargas Caballero, I. G., A. Lawrence & M. Eid. 2000. Árboles y arbustos para sistemas agroforestales en los Valles Interandinos de Santa Cruz 1–145. Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza, Santa Cruz
• Zuloaga, F. O., O. N. Morrone, M. J. Belgrano, C. Marticorena & E. Marchesi. (eds.) 2008. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares del Cono Sur. Monographs in systematic botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 107(1–3): i–xcvi, 1–3348.