ALNUS Mill. - ALDER
Scientific Description:
Deciduous trees or shrubs. Buds stalked, with few scales. Leaves alternate, usually serrate or dentate. Male flowers with 4 stamens and 4-lobed perianth, 3 in axil of each bract, in pendent catkins. Female flowers naked, 2 in axil of each bract, in erect catkins. Fruiting catkin ovoid, cone-like, scales 5-lobed, woody, persistent. Fruit a small compressed nut, often winged.
Reference:
Yaltırık F (1982). Alnus Miller, In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 7: 691.
Public Description:
Alnus is a genus of trees and shrubs, commonly known as “alder”, is distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species extending into Central America and the northern Andes. There are approximately 44 species in the word and 2 species (6 taxa) in Türkiye. Recent clinical studies have verified that “red alder” contains “betulin” and “lupeol”, compounds shown to be effective against a variety of tumors. The wood materials of the highest quality electric guitars have been produced from alders since the 1950s.
References:
Anonymous 1 (2015). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alder/, Accessed date: 22.12.2015.
Anonymous 2 (2015). http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Betulaceae/Alnus/ Accessed date: 22.12.2015.
Aksoy N (2012). Alnus Mill.,. In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (edlr.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 218.
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