TAG ALDER

HOW IDENTIFY THIS LEAFLESS SHRUB?...

...BY NEXT SPRING'S DORMANT CATKINS...

...AND LAST SUMMER'S EMPTY "CONES".

Sunday, 9;00 AM.  41 degrees F at the ferry dock, 37 on the back porch.  Wind NW with moderate gusts, the humidity 87%.  The barometer is more or less steady at 30.25", predicting mild temperatures and mixed skies, with no chance of rain for the week ahead.

   Tag alder, Alnus glutinosa, in the Hazel Family,  the Corylaceae, is a nearly ubiquitous large shrub or small tree of the north, a major component of swamp and woods edge vegetation.  But how does one identify it once it looses its leaves?

   The easiest way is to look for next spring's dormant catkins (which bear the plant's male flowers) and the empty husks of its last year's female "cones," both very obvious now that the plant has lost its leaves.

DRAIN THE SWAMP!  

VOTE TRUMP