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Alnus serrulata
A multi-stemmed deciduous small tree or large shrub. Bark is thin, gray to brownish, smooth, and muscled with a fluted trunk. Leaves are alternate, simple, obovate to elliptical, 2-4” long, and pinnately veined. They have a finely serrated undulating margin and are dark green above but paler and finely hairy below. Flowers are monoecious and appear in early spring; males are green-brown catkins, 1-1 1/2” long, while females are ½” long, and reddish. Fruits are woody, cone-like catkins, ½” long, dark brown with each scale enclosing a tiny, winged seed. Fruit ripens in fall and the cones persist through winter.
Native to swamps and banks of North America east of the Mississippi. Because the plant resides in riversides or stream streambanks, it usually functions as a stabilizer and restorer for those habitats.
It is also used to treat astringent, diuretic, emetic, ophthalmic, and purgative symptoms. A tea made from the bark is said to work as a treatment for diarrhea, coughs, toothaches, sore mouth, and the pain of birth. Spotted near Gilbert Rd / Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield
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