Alder catkins

The alder is monoecious, having both male and female catkins on the same tree. The male catkins hang down like lambs' tails whilst the female catkins are oval-shaped. At this time of the year the female catkins become woody and cone like, splitting horizontally to release their seeds. As the weather gets tougher these hanging seed containers will provide much needed food for our local flocks of goldfinch, redpoll and siskin.