Alder
Alnus glutinosaAlder grows by rivers and on wet ground. Its leaves are dark and rounded, and small woody cones hang on its twigs in every month of the year.
How to identify alder →
Lookalikes
Alder or silver birch?
Both hang their male catkins in small groups at the shoot tips, and both are in the birch family.
The quickest check
The quickest check is the older trunk. Alder: brown, cracked into small square plates. Silver birch: white and papery, black diamonds at the base.
At a glance
| Look at | Alder | Silver birch |
|---|---|---|
| Older trunk | Brown, cracked into small square plates | White and papery, black diamonds at the base |
| Leaf shape and tip | Racquet-shaped, the tip rounded or notched | Triangular and straight-sided, with a fine point |
| Fallen fruit | Woody and hard, cut square at both ends | Crumbles at once into tiny winged seeds |
Three ways to tell them apart
Older trunkBark
Leaf shape and tipLeaves
Fallen fruitCones
The two trees
Silver birch
Betula pendulaSilver birch is a slim, fast-growing tree with a light, open crown. Its bark is white and papery, with rough black diamonds at the base. The finest twigs hang straight down.
How to identify silver birch →
In the app
See them side by side in Treely
- Both trees, part by partLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed through the year
- Every lookalike side by sideThe checks that settle it, for every pair people mix up
- A short round each dayUntil you can tell them apart at a glance
- The full GuideBoth trees written up in full, with where to find them
Free to download.
Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.
Photographs: Chase Mathey (CC BY 4.0), Георгий Виноградов (Georgy Vinogradov) (CC BY 4.0), Jan Sheppard (CC BY 4.0), sim_elliott (CC0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.