#common alder

[withstand-whats-written]

folks I'm ngl sorting seeds into a fresh petri dish is the most satisfying activity to finish ever

the before (miserable):

the after:

doing the actual sorting almost killed me though the seeds are so very small and will fling themselves across the room at the merest twitch of the tweezers :( but just look at the results!

[brantaleucopsis]

I’m not sure whether these little cones are from grey or common alder, I forgot to check the remaining leaves, and you can’t really tell from the leaves seen in these photos. They are the female catkins, and the longer droopy ones seen in the bottom picture are the male catkins. Each tree has both. 

[angelapioquid]

Common Alder By Angela Pioquid

[withstand-whats-written]

still find it hard to believe sometimes that these become whole fucking trees. right now if I sneezed on them they'd probably snap. but no. they survive. they become older and mightier and more beautiful.

these alder seeds could grow up to almost 30 metres in their short 60 year lifespan. just incredible.

[withstand-whats-written]

The weird thing about working under the microscope is that it's fiddly and messy because your scalpel is almost the same width as a birch seed and because all the seeds have been soaking in water so you're sitting there trying to excise an embryo from this soggy pulpy mess of a seed and there's bits going everywhere and the paper's damp and it's all a bit stressful and awful. and then you're finally done and you pull the paper out and there's just this little smudge on it with a few tiny crumbs and you remember that all that mess was in fact happening on a very very small scale indeed.

there's probably some kind of metaphor in that somewhere actually tbh I was just thinking about the seeds lmao.

anyway yes sometimes you get this in reverse and a tiny nondescript alder seeds opens up into this beautiful little sculpture and that's what I really wanted to share :)

[priyanka111]

Common Alder Tree: The Unsung Hero of Wetlands and Wildlife – Discover

The Common Alder tree, scientifically known as Alnus glutinosa, is a remarkable species that often goes unnoticed in the lush landscapes of

[thette]

(316/365) Klibbal/common alder/Alnus glutinosa. I love the red catkins.

[brantaleucopsis]

I came across with an alder, but wasn’t sure which of the two species that grow here it was, so I picked a leaf and brought it home. Turned out it was Alnus glutinosa, or the common alder.