Speckled Alder (aka Tag alder, gray alder or hoary alder) has a wide distribution across the northern hemisphere in Asia, Europe and North America. In the northeast of this continent, the common species is Alnus incana ssp. rugosa (Du Roi).. Alder grows as a tall shrub or a small tree, and prefers stream banks and wet areas with ample sunlight.
At this time of year, alders are made conspicuous by their catkins and cones, left over from summer. The male flowers are long, slim catkins, while the cone-like structures are female. But wait. What is that curly, leafy stuff around the cones?
You will have guessed from the title. Another gall! This is Alder Tongue Gall. Unlike goldenrod galls, which are caused by insects, Alder Tongue Gall is caused by a fungal pathogen (Taphrina alni) that results in a chemically induced distortion of female alder catkins.
The gall emerges from between the outer scales of the female catkin like a flat, elongated flag. Early in the season, the flag is green, but turns brown or black in the fall. The flag remains attached to the pseudocone throughout its existence.
Always amazed at what wonders you find in nature — barbara
It is amazing, Barbara! Always lots to see and learn.
Yesterday, I took the dogs for a nice long walk in Rockwood Park. On the path bordering Lily Lake, we found quite a bit of brush that had been cut by the park tenders — willows (the pussies were just starting), some kind of prunus (because I recognized the Black Knot fungus!) and some alders. Now I’m wondering, since the shrubs infected with Black Knot were cut down, whether the willows had Pine Cone Willow Gall and the alders had Alder Tongue Gall?
See how much I’ve learned from you and Seabrooke!
You’re a very attentive reader, LB. Thank you, very flattering! Sounds like a nice walk.
[…] Incidentally, I remembered my mom doing a post on alder cones last winter and returned to her blog to look it up; turned out she’d been blogging about the galls, too, rather than the shrub. They’re just that curious, I guess. Her post can be found here. […]
[…] it on her marvelous site almost exactly one year ago. She, in turn, got the information from Willow House Chronicles, which is written by her […]