Index / Search / Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia

§1 Plant — subspecies · Betulaceae

Alnus incana (L.) Moench ssp. tenuifolia (Nutt.) Breitung

vernacular thinleaf alder


USDA
ALINT
GBIF
2876460
Rank
subspecies
thinleaf alder (Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia)
Platephotograph · Vassil source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub, Tree
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Betulaceae Gray
Genus
Alnus
§2a

Native status, by region

  • AK Alaska Native
  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
Medium
Moisture use
High
Fire
Medium
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
High
CaCO₃
None
Hedging
Medium
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-62 °F minimum
Frost-free days
130 min.
Precipitation
10–20 in/yr
pH range
5.5–7
Root depth
18 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Thicket Forming
Growth rate
Rapid
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
20 ft
Height @ 20 y
20 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Dark Green
Porosity (summer)
Moderate
Porosity (winter)
Moderate
Flower colour
Purple
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
Medium
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Early Spring
Seed abundance
High
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Moderate
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
675,000
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Lumber
No
Fuelwood
Low
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 12 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/ALINT ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2876460 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z