Common alder
A wind-pollinated streamside tree flowering in February-March; no nectar, but on mild days it supplies some of the year's first pollen, and its buds yield propolis resin.
- Nectar
- None
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 15-25 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Common alder grows along streams and in marshes and wet lowland forests from Europe to the Caucasus and North Africa; in Turkey it is especially common in the Black Sea and Marmara regions. It is wind-pollinated and gives no nectar. Its long, hanging male catkins shed plenty of pollen, which bees collect on sunny, mild days at the end of winter.
Flowering
It flowers in February-March, well before leaf-out. Together with hazel and willow it is among the earliest pollen sources of the year.
Honey and pollen
It is not a honey source. The pollen helps colonies coming out of winter to start their first brood rearing, but on its own it does not provide a balanced diet.
Note for the beekeeper
Its buds and young shoots are covered in sticky resin, which bees may collect for propolis. In apiaries next to wetlands it can reduce the need for pollen supplements at the end of winter. Avoid opening colonies unnecessarily during the pollen period.