Alder: medicinal properties and use in folk medicine. Alder is a valuable and healing plant Alder tree where it grows in Russia
- (lat. Alnus) - a genus of trees and shrubs of the Birch family, uniting about 30 species common in the Northern Hemisphere, a fast-growing tree that reaches full development in 50-60 years, but can live for 150 years. The height of its trunk can be 15-20 m, diameter - 15-25 cm.
IN middle lane There are two main types of alder: gray and black, so named for the color of the bark.
Most alder species bloom before the leaves open, and the appearance of their pendulous male catkins is one of the most early signs spring. Some species bloom in late summer or early autumn. Short, erect female catkins turn into woody cones as the fruits ripen (by next spring). Alder can be easily recognized both in summer and winter by these cones, which remain on the tree all year round and do not shed long after the seeds fall out. No one else European species deciduous trees no such characteristic distinctive feature. The shoots are bare or drooping, of different colors, with whitish lenticels. Leaves only on growth shoots, alternate, simple, entire, serrated or lobed-toothed, of various shapes.
Alder forests (alder forests, alder forests) are soft-leaved forests, the stands of which are dominated by one of the tree species of alder. Depending on the edifier, there are black alder forests (black alder forests), gray alder forests (gray alder forests), etc., which in classification terms correspond to individual forest formations. The main tracts of alder forests are concentrated in North America (mainly red alder plantations, in countries East Asia, as well as in the mountains Central Europe. Alder forests are also widespread in Belarus, Ukraine (Polesie), and the Baltic countries. In Russia - in the Kaliningrad and Bryansk regions, in the north of the Russian Plain, less - in the Urals, in Siberia, in Far East and in the Caucasus mountains. The total area of alder forests in the European part of Russia is about 1.6 million hectares, with a timber reserve of over 170 million m3, including black alder forests - 1.0 million hectares and 110 million m3, respectively. The rest is mostly gray alder. Other alder formations in Russia are of no economic importance.
Alder wood
Alder is a diffusely vascular, coreless sapwood species. Its wood is white when freshly cut, but in air it turns from orange-yellow to yellow-red or reddish-brown. The sap only stains the surface layers of wood. Alder wood is painted into a stable light chocolate color with a pinkish tint only after it has been dried and aged. The annual layers are faintly visible in all sections; the vessels are not visible. Rare false-wide heart-shaped rays are visible on all sections. Often there are heart-shaped repetitions, which in longitudinal sections look like brownish or brown or curved narrow stripes, closed contours, dashes, spots that look like a core.
Freshly cut alder wood has a moisture content of about 110%. Maximum humidity during water absorption is 185%.
Alder (black and gray) is a low-density species. The average density of alder wood at standard humidity (12%) is 525 kg/m3, absolutely dry - 595 kg/m3, base density - 430 kg/m3.
Alder wood is not particularly durable, but has a fairly uniform structure, making it easier to process, and a beautiful reddish color. Smoother and thicker trunks, therefore, are used for crafts, for carpentry and turning, but the bulk of alder wood goes into firewood, which is usually valued 10-30% cheaper than birch wood. Alder shavings and sawdust are used for smoking meat and fish. Alder firewood is used to burn off soot in chimneys(especially after pine trees).
Alder wood is soft, light, cuts well, warps little when dried, has good dimensional stability, and pickles and polishes well. Therefore, it was previously widely used for making furniture. Including expensive, due to the fact that alder can be “finished” to look like mahogany. Alder is suitable for carving. It is also used to produce veneer, both peeled (for plywood) and planed (for finishing furniture and other products).
Alder wood lasts under water for a long time and is therefore used for small underwater structures. Alder is easy to paint, pickle and polish. The ridges lend themselves well to peeling. In the modern furniture industry, gray and black alder are treated with ammonia (ammonia vapor) and then pressed. After such processing, alder wood is much superior to walnut wood in terms of technical and decorative properties. Dyeing gives it an expressive textured pattern. This is achieved due to the fact that the annual layers have different densities, and dyes are absorbed by individual areas with different strengths. For deep dyeing, iron sulfate, natural chromium and other mordants are used.
Alder is readily used for easel and chamber sculpture, wall carved panels and decorative tableware. High-quality coals are burned from it for drawing. The wood of alder burls, which have an expressive textured pattern, is highly valued.
Black alder wood is resistant to moisture, so it was always used where contact with water is inevitable: in bridge construction (piles), house construction (gutters), and cooperage.
Dyes for cloth, silk and leather were obtained from the bark of black alder, which were used to dye black, red and yellow, depending on pre-treatment. Using a decoction of alder bark, fishermen painted their nets a camouflage color, after which they became much stronger, and carpenters used alder wood to look like walnut.
Alder charcoal was valued for making hunting gunpowder. Charcoal obtained from alder is considered the best for forges.
In general, alder is not particularly decorative; it is an ordinary deciduous tree, and even in autumn its leaves do not turn bright yellow, like those of other trees. They begin to turn black and fall off, as if affected by some incomprehensible disease. It's not for nothing that Ancient Greece alder was considered a mournful tree. At the same time, Slavic magicians attributed to it the properties of a talisman that protects gardens from hail, and people from damage.
The photo shows an alder tree
Types of alder and their features
There are currently about 30 species of alder growing in the Northern Hemisphere. These are moisture-loving shrubs or trees growing near water. Unfortunately, such a neighborhood does not benefit them - alder is not durable, like oak or birch; on average, it lives 50-60-70 years. However, it can be planted in waterlogged areas with stagnant water, to decorate natural or artificial reservoirs, in parks with high groundwater levels. Here the tree grows very quickly and retains its green color leaves, and evaporates up to 10 cubic meters of water per season.
Shrub alder reaches 3 meters in height, sometimes it can rise up to 5 meters. Its bark is gray, but the shoots are red or brown, the leaves are about 10 cm long, shiny, with jagged edges, oval, up to 10 cm long, dark green. Leaves and flowers appear on alder trees at the same time.
Shrub alder grows quite quickly and can be planted in shady or semi-shaded places. It is unpretentious to soils, but loves moisture. Tolerates severe frosts well.
Gray alder is a tree or shrub up to 20 meters high, with a narrow crown. The bark is light gray, smooth, the shoots are pubescent, not sticky. The leaves are pointed, two-colored - bluish below and dark green above. Newly emerged, young leaves are pubescent and greyish.
It grows in wetlands, is undemanding to soil, and can grow successfully on loam. It is used to strengthen the banks of natural reservoirs. Life expectancy is about 60 years.
In North America, a decorative form of gray alder grows - with bluish leaves. This is a shrub, or a low tree, about 6 meters. The leaves are bare, bluish-blue, pubescent below.
Golden alder with yellowish leaves on red shoots also grows in the forests of the North American continent.
In Russia, in the Far East, woolly alder is found, growing as a shrub or tree up to 10 meters high.
Alder is sticky, black, grows both in Russia and in Western Europe, and even in North Africa. This is a slender tree up to 36 meters high, with a pyramidal crown and a brown trunk. The shoots are sticky, reddish, covered with light scales. The leaves are up to 9 cm long, obovate, round, also sticky and shiny. In autumn they do not turn yellow, they fall green or slightly browned. Flowers on sticky alder appear before the leaves; after they fall, ovoid cones up to 2 centimeters long remain on the tree, which serve as decoration for the tree.
Sticky alder grows quickly, but not on all soils. There are several decorative forms of this type of alder, which differ in the color and shape of the leaves, as well as the structure of the crown.
Agricultural technology
For planting, an alder seedling can be found in the forest, or purchased at a tree nursery. Planting a seedling is not much different from planting seedlings of fruit and other trees. You will need a hole, deep and wide more sizes roots with a root ball of soil, poured with water, 1 bucket per hole is enough. No special fertilizers are required; its roots are able to independently produce nitrogen and enrich the soil. Actually, nitrogen is produced not by the roots, but by the tubers, which contain bacteria - they draw nitrogen from the air into the soil. But nitrogen alone is not enough for the tree; 200 grams of slaked lime and 15 grams of Kemira-universal fertilizer are added to the hole.
A seedling installed in a hole is first sprinkled with soil removed from the top, fertile layer, and then with a mixture of peat, sand and earth, after which it is watered again. It is better to plant in spring, as well as in autumn, without leaves. The stems of the seedling are cut to a height of 50-70 cm - before planting, or immediately after it, so it will not waste energy on developing the above-ground part, and will begin to strengthen the root system.
When planting in spring, the seedling is often watered for the first time, of course, if it is not growing in a wetland. With age, the tree grows stronger, the root system becomes more extensive, and provides the tree with moisture without additional watering.
Loosening the soil at the roots can be called a mandatory measure; without it, the soil will become too hard and dense, the roots will not be able to fully breathe.
Protection
Alder, as a tree growing in a humid environment, is often affected by fungal diseases. Earrings, whose scales grow unnaturally, are especially affected. Some fungi cause spots on the leaves - they wrinkle and fall off.
Among the pests, alder is afraid of the corrosive woodworm, which lays its larvae under the bark. As a result, the larvae spoil both the young shoots and the bark itself.
To protect alder, it is treated with fungicides, poisons, or folk remedies. Affected branches are cut off and burned.
Reproduction
Alder is propagated by root cuttings and also by seeds. It should be noted that in nature, alder spreads without any problems thanks to well-adapted seeds.
Alder is a monoecious plant; male catkins and female cones grow on the same branch. The catkin inflorescences produce pollen, which is carried by insects and wind to pollinate the buds.
The cones remain overwintered on the branches and open the following spring, releasing small seeds. They are carried by the wind or flood waters. It is unknown where the seeds will land on the shore, and where they will catch on and germinate; this often happens several kilometers from the parent tree.
In culture, alder cones are collected in the fall to collect seeds, dried and waited for them to open. Then the seeds are selected, sifting all the material through a sieve with holes no larger than 4-5 mm.
Seeds are sown in containers or open ground, but sometimes stored until spring, kept in a room with a temperature of 1 to 5 degrees Celsius, and air humidity not higher than 10-12%. Under such conditions, the seeds will be viable for 1-2 years. With autumn sowing, seedlings appear in the spring, with spring sowing, also in the spring, but a year later.
Root cuttings for planting in a new place are dug up, cut to a height of 50-70 cm, and planted in a previously prepared hole (how to do this is written above); within a season, shoots up to 1 meter high will grow from the cut stem.
Where is alder used?
By growing alder on your site, you can use it for cooking medicines. Traditional medicine uses alder bark, cones and leaves to heal purulent wounds, treat eczema, dysentery, hemorrhoids, and diathesis.
Alder firewood is suitable for smoking fish and meat, cooking kebabs and grilling - the wood does not spoil the taste of the food.
Alder wood is not particularly durable, but it has a uniform structure that does not change when dried. Therefore, musical instruments, dishes, panels, figurines, and decorative furniture are made from it.
Alder boards are installed in wells and used for making barrels and various products used in conditions with high humidity.
Another advantage of wood is that dry alder firewood burns well, emitting a large number of heat.
- Description
- Growing
- Application
Everyone knows what alder looks like. Unprepossessing in appearance, but it is a real harbinger of the coming of spring. When all the trees still have bare black trunks, causing melancholy and sadness, the alder is already blooming with might and main. It is with flowering that the life cycle of this tree begins, then young leaves begin to appear. Alder is a deciduous tree. Depending on the location, it may be in the form of a tree or bush.
Description
Escapes young plant have a cylindrical shape with a greenish core.
The buds grow on stalks and have two scales. Alder leaves grow in an alternate order; the leaf shape is entire, lobed, sometimes jagged at the edges. The shape of the leaf can vary - from round or slightly oblong to elongated.
Flowering occurs with monoecious flowers that have the shape of fluffy earrings - the birch family has such distinctive feature. In this case, the stamens are formed on top of the shoot in the form of long earrings, and the pistils are formed in the lower part and have the shape of small spikelets.
A distinctive feature of alder is that it blooms even before or simultaneously with the beginning of the leaves to bloom. Thanks to this, pollen is better transported by the wind.
Inflorescences are formed during the year preceding flowering, while in different time: female, staminate - begin to form in mid-summer (duration about 5-6 months), male, pistillate - from autumn (formed 1-2 months).
When inflorescences are formed, male flowers are formed in the amount of 3 pieces, less often - one in the form of an earring. Female flowers are formed in pairs, at the bottom of the shoot.
The fruit is a hard, woody cone, characteristic of alder. Among the many trees in the forest, alder can be recognized precisely by these cones.
The trunk is usually slender, covered on the outside with smooth bark. The density of wood is low.
You can distinguish alder from other trees by the following parameters:
- begins early flowering;
- has earrings;
- there are small bumps on the shoots.
Alder grows in the area temperate climate, prefers rich and moist soil, but can grow in dry and clay soil.
Kinds
Depending on the area and living conditions, it can have any number of different forms. You can find more than a hundred different species - trees and shrubs. On the territory of Russia, the two most common types are the sticky black and gray ones, namely:
- Black look. The name is due to the leaves having an adhesive element, and due to the fact that the trunk is black. IN Greek myths this sight was described as a harbinger of spring. Description: this species is capable of rapid growth, often reaching a height of 20 meters. It grows in the forest, most often alone, with no plants of other species growing nearby. The plant begins flowering in mid-spring. The fruits are small black cones. photophilous and loves moist soil, so it can often be found in moist places. Often this species unites to form alder thickets. It is considered an endangered species in some regions of Russia. They are planted along ponds, the plant decorates parks and squares.
- Another type of tree, gray alder, can be easily distinguished from other trees. Appearance tree (pictured) does not look like its “black” relative - it has a slightly curved trunk with bark that has gray shade, while the leaves of the tree also have grey colour. When flowering, it produces earrings of a brownish hue. During the flowering period, the tree looks very elegant and unusual. Unlike his other brothers, gray look unpretentious to habitats - lives even on poor soils and wetlands. It has great resistance to frost and windy weather. Young shoots grow quickly, often forming dense thickets trees and shrubs. This property of trees is often used in industrial purposes– trees are planted along the banks, thereby further securing them from collapse.
In addition to these, there are other species that are widespread throughout Russia. Among them we can distinguish such species as bush alder or Siberian alder. Such plants are small trees with maximum height up to 6-8 meters. They live mainly in the Siberian part of Russia and the Far East.
Most species of this tree begin to flower in early spring– from April to May. As noted above, flowering begins before the leaves bloom. The flowers are long earrings and small black cones.
Growing
Although alder is often considered a weed tree, this is far from true. This opinion is formed due to the wood of the tree. Alder wood is often small, crooked, and difficult to use for industrial purposes. However, some species of this tree take root well in unpretentious conditions, which is an excellent property for planting nurseries or starting to grow forests.
For example, gray alder lives in any area and on any soil. In addition, a large amount of nitrogen accumulates on its roots in the tubers, which gradually settles into the ground and is able to restore the fertility of the soil around it.
Growing alder trees and shrubs is a fairly easy task. The seeds of the plant germinate easily. Alder cones are quite hard, which prevents them from scattering during seed collection, this prevents foreign impurities from getting into them.
It is worth noting that black alder is much more difficult to grow. The tree loves only moist soil, rich in mineral elements, and almost does not grow in poor, depleted soil with insufficient moisture, therefore such a tree is unsuitable for nursery cultivation; it is often planted along the banks of rivers and reservoirs.
Growing alder - advantages:
- some species are unpretentious to the soil, which allows trees to be grown in any area;
- easy to collect seeds;
- begins early flowering;
- Due to the accumulation of nitrogenous formations on the roots, it can improve soil fertility.
Application
Trees of the alder family have medicinal and healing properties. Cones from trees have anti-inflammatory and disinfectant properties, which are used to prepare various medicines. The elements contained in the leaves and bark of trees have a detrimental effect on various types of protozoan microorganisms. Therefore, parts of the tree can be used to make anti-inflammatory products. skin diseases– eczema, psoriasis, various fungi.
Alder cones have also found their use in medical field . Tinctures and decoctions of them are used in cases of colitis, dysentery, and as an astringent for stomach or intestinal bleeding. Due to their astringent properties, alder leaves and cones are used in the treatment of burns, nose and mouth bleeding, stomach ulcers, and various skin inflammations.
The healing properties of alder were known to our ancestors. Since ancient times, a decoction of alder leaves has been used as a diaphoretic for colds. It can also be used to make wonderful relaxing foot baths.
Industrial use
The use of alder for industrial purposes is quite widespread:
- although alder wood is not very durable, it is quite soft and pliable, which makes working with it for industrial purposes much easier;
- alder does not lead to the formation of cracks, and therefore this material is often used for the manufacture of musical instruments;
- has small and soft wood, due to which wood material is widely used by artists who carry out wood carvings;
- alder products gain strength over time; wells, barrels, and underground structures are made from it;
- products made from alder wood are widely used - from decorative panels and boxes to furniture;
- The construction world of materials also widely uses alder wood - for interior decoration or furniture making.
In conclusion, it is worth noting the relatively low cost of wood, which has affected its widespread use in industry.
A real harbinger of the onset of spring, which at first glance seems like the most ordinary tree, is alder. Photos of the tree convey all the beauty of such a beauty. Its slender trunk is covered with smooth bark; its rounded leaves do not change color over the season and remain green until the onset of frost.
Alder tree: description
A photo of a representative of the forest shows the richness of its crown, although the latter seems sparse due to the uneven, loose arrangement of the branches. The flowering process begins in early spring, when there is still snow everywhere; The wind plays the role of pollinator.
What does alder look like? The tree blooms with earrings, divided into female and male, which in the process of ripening (September-October) acquire a red-brown color. Female ones are about 1 cm long, located in groups of up to 8 pieces and during the ripening period they become woody like cones.
Alder as part of a natural complex
100 years is the average age, and 150 years is the maximum age of such a natural specimen as an alder tree. Where does such an inconspicuous but very useful tree grow? Alder prefers wet soils(these are the banks of streams, rivers and various reservoirs) and often forms thickets, so-called alder forests: in pure form or mixed. In the north it is believed that alder is conifer tree, V southern regions it forms together with oak and beech mixed forests. The plant coexists well with birch, spruce, oak, linden and aspen.
Alder is a valuable honey plant. Resinous substances are released from its buds and leaves, which serve bees to produce propolis.
Dry leaves of the plant are excellent for feeding to livestock.
Black alder - deciduous tree
The most widespread among the known varieties is black alder, which received its name from the black bark of an adult tree. IN Greek mythology Black alder, also characterized by sticky, shiny leaves, is associated with the festival of fire and the arrival of spring. Alder (a photo of the tree is given in the article) loves light and moisture; growing in moist places, it can create alder swamps. At the same time, it does not tolerate standing water at all.
The growth of black alder, which is considered a loner because it does not accept trees of other species, is quite rapid. The plant can reach 20 meters. Flowering begins in April, and the fruits (cones with a narrow wing) ripen only at the end of next spring.
Black (sticky) alder, more capricious compared to other varieties, is included in the Red Book of Moldova, Kazakhstan and some regions of Russia. This tree is used to landscape parks and squares; thanks to its widely branched root system, it is planted along reservoirs, thus strengthening the banks.
Beauty with brown earrings
Alder, a tree whose description allows us to highlight its main characteristics, is an equally popular species of the birch family. Gray alder can reach a height of up to 16 meters. Therefore, it is planted to secure ravines and coastal areas. Propagated by root suckers, cuttings and seeds.
What does alder look like? The tree has a gray, slightly curved trunk, gray leaves, and brown catkins. These are the main characteristics by which alder can be distinguished from other plants. Frost resistance and the ability to grow on depleted soils and wetlands are the advantages that characterize the alder tree.
Description, photo of the green beauty, an integral part natural complex, will allow you to get to know her better.
Alder in decorative arts
Growth is quite active, especially at a young age; during this period, wild thickets most often form. Thanks to such characteristics as the uniformity of the wood structure, its softness, viscosity and pliability, alder is a tree that has found wide application in industry. Its wood has long been used as an optimal material for artistic carving and is the basis for creating carved dishes, decorative panels and sculptures. Dry distillation from alder produces coals, which artists use in their work, creating future masterpieces, and wood vinegar. The sagging on the trunks has decorative value.
Industrial Application
Alder is easy to process, well planed, sawn, and glued. Excellent resistance to polishing, varnishing, staining; When screwing in screws, it does not split; when driving nails, it can peel off. When dried, wood, which is also used in the production of gunpowder, does not change its properties: it dries quickly, does not warp or crack. Thanks to these qualities, alder is used in the manufacture of musical instruments and parts for them.
Alder wood is resistant to water and does not rot, therefore it is used as a material in the production of bridges, rafts, underwater structures and supports. Of the metals, it is critical of iron and in places where iron nails are driven in it will cause a rusting reaction and, as a result, the appearance of gray circles at the points of contact. Does not like contact with cement mortar, which causes an alkaline reaction inside the wood tissue and its rotting.
Alder is a tree that is widely used in the manufacture of plywood and particle boards. Its shavings are added as a binding antiseptic in the production of slabs from beech, spruce, and pine shavings.
Alder as a building material
Alder wood is used in the construction of wooden houses, carved entrance gates, well sheathing, production and restoration of furniture and decorative interior parts. Smooth trunks are used as fence posts.
This is an excellent material for the manufacture of packaging boxes, pallets, coils, and various casting molds. Alder intended for outdoor construction requires mandatory treatment with an antiseptic. Otherwise, the tree will begin to rot, especially in close contact with open ground.
IN industrial production Alder wood is used to make paper, and the waste is used as fuel. Alder firewood is considered high-quality heating fuel. They used to be used to burn off excess soot from pipes. Such firewood burns well and is characterized by high heat transfer and the absence of waste. It’s not for nothing that they are called “royal”, because they are old times heated the royal chambers.
Black alder bark is a first-class material for producing dyes for wool and leather, producing red, black and yellow colors. The brown dye comes from the buds.
Use of alder in folk medicine
The beneficial properties of alder are widely used in medicine: traditional and folk, mostly using cones, leaves and bark of the tree, which contains tannins. Decoctions and infusions of cones and bark are taken as an astringent, anti-inflammatory, disinfectant, antibacterial and hemostatic agent. A purulent wound will heal quickly if a black alder tree leaf is applied to it.
For constipation and hemorrhoids, use vodka infusion of earrings; for diathesis and eczema, they are treated with a decoction of flowers collected at the beginning of the flowering period. A decoction of alder cones is excellent for normalizing the natural intestinal microflora after taking antibiotics and is used in the treatment of diseases gastrointestinal tract. This remedy also helps with inflammatory processes nasopharynx and throat, colds, sore throats and pharyngitis.
IN folk medicine for nosebleeds, it is recommended to put tampons in the nose fresh leaves alders A decoction of them helps well with gout, arthritis, and joint pain. To prepare dry baths, fresh, just collected alder leaves are heated in the sun or in an oven and spread in a thick layer on the bed where the patient is placed. They cover the entire body and wrap it with a warm blanket on top. The duration of such a session is about an hour. The best effect will be if the leaves are placed in a deep tub, and when they warm up, you need to plant the patient there up to the neck. Treatment with birch leaves is carried out in the same way.
Alder brooms, which clean, disinfect, tone the skin and give strength and vitality, are very popular during bath procedures.
Alder in veterinary medicine
In a number of countries, fresh alder leaves are used to control fleas in domestic animals. They are scattered on the floor. A concentrated decoction of the leaves was recently used in the fight against bedbugs - for treating walls and washing beds. The cones were given to pets for bloody diarrhea.
Due to the vitamin C, carotene and protein content, black alder leaves are widely used in traditional medicine. A dry extract is produced from the cones - hops, which is used for dysentery; from wood - activated carbon tablets.
In cooking, sawdust and firewood are used to smoke meat and fish.
The collection of cones begins in late autumn and continues until March. To do this, the ends of the branches on which the cones grow are carefully trimmed with pruning shears, after which the latter are torn off. Fallen fruits are unsuitable for use. The collected raw materials, spread out in an even layer, are dried under a canopy or in attics in a ventilated area. IN warm weather The cones are dried in the open air, stirring occasionally. The shelf life of fruits is 3 years.