Alder
the common name for a genus of plants (alnus), of the order cupiliferæ (oak family). In the eastern United States it is a very common shrub. On the W. coast it often attains a height of from 40 to 60 feet in favorable locations. It is found in temperate and cold regions. The species familiar in England has a wood soft and light, but very durable in the water, and therefore well adapted to mill work, sluices, piles of bridges, etc. Its bark and shoots are used for dye, and its branches for the charcoal employed in making gunpowder.