Green alder

About

Green alder is a creeping shrub, or stelyukh, 0.5–2 m tall. It is a plant of the subalpine zone of the Carpathians: it grows above the tree line on moist, shady rocky slopes and forms dense thickets — krivolissya. It enters the alpine zone at an altitude of about 1900 m and descends into the mountain forest zone. Overall, green alder is widespread in cold regions of the entire Northern Hemisphere and is even found in the Arctic.

Above the tree line, green alder often neighbors and competes with mountain pine and juniper. These two shrubs seem to have divided the slopes: alder prefers wetter conditions and more often occupies northern, shady slopes and moist hollows, while juniper prefers drier places.

The shoots of green alder are reddish-brown, the leaves are egg-shaped-elliptical, 4–6 cm long, sharply serrated, dark green and glabrous on top. It blooms from April to July. Male catkins are green, elongated, hanging in clusters of 2–3, while the cones are small, up to 1 cm, lighter than those of black alder. The seeds are small flat nuts with wings, resembling birch seeds. Well-developed roots stabilize the soil on steep slopes.

In the Polish Bieszczady, green alder naturally grows only above the upper limit of beech forests and overgrows the polonyna where livestock grazing has ceased. Botanists sometimes classify it into a separate genus Duschekia, but this name has not gained popularity. Green alder is not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

Where in the Carpathians

The map shows where naturalists recorded the species (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY records), not every place it lives. The Ukrainian Carpathians are less studied, so a blank area does not mean the species is absent.

Countries

Slovakia · Ukraine · Poland · Romania · Czechia

Mountain ranges

Bieszczady, Low Tatras, Chornohora, Svydovets, Făgăraș Mountains, Krasna Polonyna, Greater Fatra

Altitude belts

Foothills (below 600 m) · Beech forests (600–1200 m) · Conifer forests (1200–1600 m)

When to see it

From naturalists’ observations in the Carpathians (iNaturalist, research grade): the darker the cell, the more often the species is seen that month.

Protection and rules

Not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

Red Data Book of Ukraine

FAQ