Identification: BC Tree ID

No 1 (somehow didn't get posted!)
A tree on Hollyburn Mountain in Cypress Provincial Park, outside of Vancouver..

 

Red alder (Alnus rubra).

 

Alnus rubra is a lowland species (primarily) that has a characteristic recurved leaf edge, making it look like the teeth are blunted. The other alder species there is A. viridis subsp. sinuata (Sitka or mountain alder), which replaces red alder at elevation. The place is Hollyburn Mountain or Cypress Provincial Park. "Cypress Mountain" is the commercial enterprise. Cyprus is something else entirely.

 

Thanks Douglas. So i guess is it an A. viridis ssp. crispa? I changed the place name and will do so on my other spottings. Thanks for drawing my attention to it.

 

It looks like Red Alder to me too, it looks to have the recurved leaf edge that Douglas mentions. What altitude was it at?

 

around 1000 meters

 

I added a photo of the tree...

 

In addition to different leaf margins Sitka alder never has apical dominance.

 

Agree with Ron B and Michael F—Alnus rubra for sure. Note also the conspicuous overwintering buds, which are stalked and often characteristically "duck-billed."

I corrected my mistake from yesterday (surprised those two didn't catch me). Sitka alder is A. viridis subsp. sinuata (not subsp. viridis).

Attached images of A. rubra showing the revolute margin. Portrait shot taken in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire (imagine my surprise at finding a lowly BC native in Ernest Wilson's home town).

Last comment: for BC native plant identification on line, try E-Flora BC.

 

I'd have picked it up if you'd put subsp. viridis (as that's Europe's subspecies), but you had it down as subsp. crispa, a far less significant difference, just east-west within N America ;-)

 

thanks to the 3 of you... thanks to you my ID and understanding of BC trees has improved 100%! Read about them all on Wiki as you supplied the names... Unfortunately the memory is not so good, but I have a record now to refer to. Thanks again.