Alnus alnobetula(Ehrh.) K.Koch

European Green AlderGreen Aldergreen alder

WFO wfo-0000944137 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Alnus alnobetula, photographed by Marco Mussita
fig. a Marco Mussita, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-09 / obs. 205486549
Alnus alnobetula, photographed by Marco Mussita
fig. b Marco Mussita, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 203123536
Alnus alnobetula, photographed by Marco Mussita
fig. c Marco Mussita, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 202956078
Alnus alnobetula, photographed by user12
fig. d user12, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 200187838
Alnus alnobetula, photographed by Ian Manning
fig. e Ian Manning, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 192247372
Alnus alnobetula, photographed by Todd Boland
fig. f Todd Boland, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 192211821
Alnus alnobetula, photographed by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas
fig. g Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 166926488
Alnus alnobetula, photographed by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas
fig. h Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 166927197

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 70 botanical countries

Regions where Alnus alnobetula is native: Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, China North-Central, Chita, Inner Mongolia, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Magadan, Manchuria, Mongolia, Primorye, Sakhalin, West Siberia, Yakutiya, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, East European Russia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, North European Russia, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Ukraine, Alaska, Alberta, Aleutian Is., British Columbia, California, Colorado, Greenland, Idaho, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, Saskatchewan, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon AltayAmurBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChitaInner MongoliaIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKhabarovskKrasnoyarskMagadanManchuriaMongoliaPrimoryeSakhalinWest SiberiaYakutiyaAustriaBelarusBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaEast European RussiaFranceGermanyHungaryItalyNorth European RussiaNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSwitzerlandUkraineAlaskaAlbertaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoGreenlandIdahoLabradorMaineManitobaMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMontanaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecSaskatchewanTennesseeVermontWashingtonWisconsinWyomingYukon
Native distribution of Alnus alnobetula, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
Aleutian Is. ALU
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Greenland GNL
Idaho IDA
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Montana MNT
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Carolina NCA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Saskatchewan SAS
Tennessee TEN
Vermont VER
Washington WAS
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
Altay ALT ASIA-TEMPERATE
Amur AMU
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
Chita CTA
Inner Mongolia CHI
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Khabarovsk KHA
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Magadan MAG
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
Primorye PRM
Sakhalin SAK
West Siberia WSB
Yakutiya YAK
Austria AUT EUROPE
Belarus BLR
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
East European Russia RUE
France FRA
Germany GER
Hungary HUN
Italy ITA
North European Russia RUN
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR

Not drawn on the map: Kuril Is., Aleutian Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Flowering 121 in flower of 518 examined

Peak flowering in May. Each bar is the share of Alnus alnobetula observations in which someone actually recorded the reproductive state and found the plant in flower, not the raw number of flowering records. That distinction matters: people observe plants far more in spring than in winter, so a bare count of flowering records partly measures when people go outside. Dividing by the number examined removes that. 121 of 518 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. This is still a global aggregate and not a forecast for your garden: the same species flowers on different dates in different hemispheres. Where a species has fewer than 30 flowering records we do not draw this chart at all. Computed from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Also published as 147 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Alnaster crispus (Aiton) Czerep.
  • Alnaster fruticosus (Rupr.) Ledeb.
  • Alnaster kamtschaticus (Callier) Czerep.
  • Alnaster sinuatus (Regel) Czerep.
  • Alnaster viridis (Chaix) Spach
  • Alnus alnobetula f. grandifolia Callier
  • Alnus alnobetula f. laciniata Callier
  • Alnus alnobetula f. mollis (Beck) Callier
  • Alnus alnobetula var. brembana (Rota) H.J.P.Winkl.
  • Alnus alnobetula var. corylifolia (A.Kern. ex Dalla Torre) Dalla Torre & Sarnth.
  • Alnus alnobetula var. crispa (Aiton) H.J.P.Winkl.
  • Alnus alnobetula var. fruticosa (Rupr.) H.J.P.Winkl.
  • Alnus alnobetula var. genuina Regel
  • Alnus alnobetula var. microphylla (Arv.-Touv.) Callier
  • Alnus alnobetula var. parvifolia (Regel) Dippel
  • Alnus alnobetula var. pilosa Gelmi
  • Alnus alnobetula var. repens (Wormsk. ex Hornem.) H.J.P.Winkl.
  • Alnus alnobetula var. stenophylla H.J.P.Winkl.
  • Alnus alnobetula var. suaveolens (Req.) Regel
  • Alnus alpina Vill.
  • Alnus brembana Rota
  • Alnus corylifolia A.Kern. ex Dalla Torre
  • Alnus crispa (Aiton) Pursh
  • Alnus crispa f. parvifolia (Callier) T.Shimizu

and 123 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.