The Alder has followed man along the rivers for thousands of years. Medicinal tree, fertilizer of wetlands, wood with multiple uses, it is also the guardian, often beneficial, sometimes worrying, of open waters.
The tree of water
The Alder, Aulne, Verne, Vergne, erects its trunks with dark bark, anchors its roots on the banks of rivers, streams, ponds. Water is its element. Alongside the Willow and the Poplar, it settles, often alone or in small groups, the forests of yesteryear rarely exist anymore. For a long time, it has lived alongside the beaver, and knows how to reject the stump at each cut. But even its vigorous rejections will not guarantee it a long life, 100 years at most. This cousin of the birch will be adorned all winter with small dark cones, to be picked for Christmas decorations, with a few pieces of bark to fight against fever...
Medicinal properties
Forgotten, the medicinal properties of the Alder were once recognized. The leaves are to be collected at the end of spring, they can be dried or used fresh. In internal use they would be sudorific, diuretic and vermifuge. The external use is recommended for the feet of the walkers, deposited fresh in the shoes they would have soothing virtues. They are also quoted as antigalactogenic, allowing to decrease and to dry up the rises of milk. Wrapping fresh leaves under a thick quilt would alleviate any rheumatism.
The properties of the bark should not be minimized, harvested at the end of winter, just before the rise of sap, it is used for its astringent, tonic, relaxing and febrifuge virtues.
Agricultural uses
The networked roots of the Alder provide an effective fixation of the banks, avoiding the disappearance of agricultural plots, washed away at each flood. Foresters and farmers also use it to enrich the land with nitrogen. Used to difficult soils, the Alder has developed a root symbiosis with a nitrogen-fixing bacterium, just like legumes. Its cultivation thus makes it possible to prepare future exploitable plots.
A valued wood
Reddish when cut, Alder wood lightens up when dried. Homogeneous, light and soft, it is used for sculpture, and is sought after by turners. It is easily stained black, and thus resembles ebony. Clogs, but also fiber panels, containers and kitchen cutlery, its uses are multiple, up to its long stems perfect for ladders. Outside, exposed alternately to dryness and humidity, it rots very quickly. But at constant humidity or immersed, it is rot-proof, and was used as a drain (faggots), gutters, and especially pilings, the major foundation of the houses of Venice.
Various uses
In fire, Alder emits a lively heat giving off very little smoke, a property sought after by bakers and glassmakers. The dyeing properties of its bark, black tint, is still used for felt and hats. The tanning of skins in the Nordic countries uses its high concentration of tannins.
Its branches would have a certain attraction for many insects and mites, the leaves deposited on the ground serve as a refuge for fleas, ticks, various parasites. It is enough after a few hours to collect the whole and to burn, the places are clean.
Some stories
The rivers share their legends with the Aulne, the tree that guards the banks. Like the waters, it carries secrets and spells, beneficial or evil depending on the region. It is said to be the "witches' tree", its charcoal was used to draw magic circles, its branches to make fairy wands. Does its red color when felled come from blood tears? The druids would have passed there, it is said that they read the future in the smoke of the barks...
Familiar to man and riverbanks, but forgotten in the landscape, the Aulne is a tree to be rediscovered. For its properties, its stories, but also its place in the wet ecosystems, a real refuge for a varied fauna, from the tip of the leaves to the multiple nooks and crannies of its roots plunging into the water.
