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Alnus Viridis Subsp. Crispa

The Alnus Viridis Subsp. Crispa is commonly known as American Green Alder, as well as Mountain Alder

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Growing Regions

Mountain alder is widely distributed throughout interior, central, and northern Alaska across the Yukon Territory and interior Canada to Labrador, Newfoundland, and Greenland.  It extends south through New England and the Great Lakes States, and into the Pacific Northwest. Disjunct populations are documented in south-central Pennsylvania and west-central North Carolina [21,36,48,58].

     

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name of mountain alder is Alnus viridis (Chaix) DC. subsp. crispa (Ait.) Turrill. Sitka alder, Alnus viridis subsp. sinuata (Regel) A. Love & D. Love, is the other subspecies of A. viridis occurring in North America [31,64]. The subspecies interbreed where their ranges overlap [10,21,30,36,58]. Information presented in this text is for mountain alder. LIFE FORM : Shrub FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : No special status OTHER STATUS : NO-ENTRY

Mountain alder is a dominant or codominant in a variety of
habitats.  It may occur as an understory dominant in open conifer
forests with black spruce (Picea mariana), white spruce (P.  glauca),
lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), and jack pine (P. banksiana)
overstories; and in open and closed deciduous forests with paper birch
(Betula papyrifera), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), balsam poplar
(P. balsamifera), and red alder (Alnus rubra) overstories.  American
green alder can dominate in shrub types (often with Salix spp.) and on
open, moist tundra [5,13,20,55,57].

The following publications classify mountain alder as a dominant
shrub layer component:

Forest community types of west-central Alberta in relation to selected
  environmental factors [13]
Field guide to forest ecosystems of west-central Alberta [14]
Classification, description, and dynamics of plant communities after
  fire in the taiga of interior Alaska [20]
Vegetation types in northwestern Alaska and comparisons with communities
  in other Arctic regions [23]
Reconnaissance of vegetation and soils along the Dempster Highway, Yukon
 Territory: I. Vegetation types [49]
The Alaska vegetation classification [57]

Much of the information presented here is attributed to:
Matthews, Robin F. 1992. Alnus viridis subsp. crispa. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at USDA Forest Service.

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