Alders are found in wet areas, so this is a good tree to know if you enjoy lakes, ponds, or streams.
Growing up in south Alabama, Robertson’s Mill was right down the road from my house. People took corn there to be ground into corn meal, and people (like me) fished the pond and creek there. Once I went to the creek to set out hooks for catfish with my friend Joe and his 
father. We tied lines to alder limbs hanging over the water and baited them with chicken liver. When we checked the lines later by flashlight, we found a line pulled down and stuck. Figuring a catfish had grabbed the hook and got tangled on something, my friend’s father stuck his hand and arm into the dark water to free the line and fish. He said that he felt something on the line, and that it was tangled around a root. As he freed it, it wrapped around his arm. When he pulled his arm out, an eel was on the line, wrapped around his arm like a snake.
The alders I hung my hooks from are called hazel, common, or tag alder, species name Almus serrulata. They grow as shrubs 
or small trees in wet areas along streams or on pond banks, and they can get up to about 20 feet tall. I once put a lot of effort into clearing an alder thicket running along the stream of a pasture, and it quickly regrew. They are hard to get rid of, because they regenerate from stump and root sprouts. Individual alders may live only about 30 years, but established thickets may live centuries.
Alder leaves are simple and alternate on stems and shoots. They are finely serrated and slightly wavy on the margins. Veins are parallel from the midrib. The broad leaves are 2 to 5 inches long and 1.2 to 3 inches across, and are wider at the middle. They are dark or medium green and smooth on the upper surface, and are more pale green and hairy on the lower surface. They have a v-shaped base, attached to 1/4 inch to 1 inch petioles. Alder tree trunks are gnarled, smooth, and brownish gray.
Flowers of both sexes are on a single alder. Male flowers are redish green catkins about ½ inch long. The picture of those shown was taken in late January. Female flowers develop into small cone-like structures that turn dark brown and disperse seeds in the fall.
The cones remain on the tree throughout the winter.
Alders are beneficial trees. The wood of alders has little commercial value, but it has been used to smoke fish. Alders are nitrogen fixing trees, improving the soil where grown. Their fibrous roots help hold soil in place along streams and areas of erosion. Also, a tea made from the bark has a bitter and astringent taste, but is said to work as a “treatment for diarrhea, coughs, toothaches, sore mouth, and the pain of birth”.
Alders are found all over eastern North America, and westward to Texas. 
You might recognize them most anywhere there is a wet environment.
Alder smoking chips are often used for smoking fish and other meats, and vegetables. The ad below features one example of alder smoking chips. This and similar items are available for purchase here through my participation in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Any purchase through this link helps maintain this website and is appreciated.
