A species of the birch family (Betulaceae). A fast-growing monoecious tree with a straight, slender trunk and an ovoid crown. The bark is smooth (in older trees it is scaly), dark brown. The leaves are shiny, dark green, their lower side is lighter, the edge is unevenly toothed, the tip has a field, lateral veins 5-8 pairs. The spikes of the male flowers are cylindrical, the spikes of the female flowers are egg-shaped, in autumn they become woody and become "cones". Flowers III-IV. Pollinated by the wind. The fruit is a brown, vaguely pentagonal, flattened nut with 2 rudimentary wings. X enters, III-IV falls. Spread by the waters.

Black alder grows in moist, humus-rich soil (with flowing groundwater), swampy, sloping, as well as periodically flooded places where other s. trees cannot grow. Light-demanding tree. In severe winter, you can freeze. It occupies 3.0% of the total area of ​​Latvian forests. Grows in pure stands or together with birch, ash, aspen, spruce. Often grows singly or in small groups. Reaches a height of >30 m. (The biggest black alder in Latvia is the Rudbāržu black alder, Kuldīgas district.) Life span ~120 years. Propagated by seeds. Up to 60 years for the age gives the stem offshoots. Old trees are affected by rot. The wood is valuable, soft, light. It is used for the production of veneers, carpentry, underwater constructions. Black alder is sometimes planted to strengthen the banks of water bodies (e.g. in parks). Sow in spring in moist, well-aerated soil in wide seedbeds or entertainment. Seed embedding deep. 3-5 mm. If the seed is watered regularly, the seeds germinate in 10-20 days. Covering with an agricultural film greatly shortens the germination time and also reduces the need to artificially moisten the soil. Fertile, humus-rich soils with flowing groundwater are suitable for black alder crops - lean, broad-leaved peat, drained low bogs, banks of rivers and streams, etc. wide bass. Heavy mech. in soils of the composition and in places where there are signs of swamping, black alder withers and dies, as well as in poor sandy soil.

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