...in the Garden of England...
Ditton Quarry Nature Reserve
in March
Alder, which is abundant in the quarry, was planted in the early nineties when the quarry was landscaped after ragstone production had ceased.
Alder is a member of the Birch family of trees (Betulaceae) and can reach up to 25 metres in height, with the average maximum age reaching 150 years, so our quarry trees are very young specimens and, indeed, look their best.
Alder is monoecious, so each tree bears both male and female flowers. Male catkins are dark yellow brown in colour and are up to 5 cm long when they are fully open. The female flowers are much smaller in size, erect and cone-like in shape.
The catkins (flowers) appear before the new leaves in March, so you should be able to see them now in their fully glory.
Likewise, the Birch varieties are prominent in the quarry, which again were planted, en-mass, in the development of the land. Like the Alder, Birches are monoecious and pollinated by the wind.
Both species of tree are home to a variety of wildlife including chaffinches and other birds and insects that thrive on the older tree bark. Simple plant life, such as, mosses and lichen also cling to the trunk and branches.
Top: Black Alder (Alnus glutinosa)
Bottom l & r: Silver Birch (Betula pendula)
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Pictures with acknowledgements, from www.natureconservationimaging.com, www.life.uiuc.edu, www.gymnosperms.org