Editing Alnus cordata (section)

==Description==
It is a medium-sized tree growing up to {{convert|25|m|ft|-1|abbr=in}} tall<ref name=Rushforth>{{cite book|first=Keith |last=Rushforth |trans-title=Pocket Guide to Trees | title=Bäume |language=de |location=[[Bern]] |publisher=Hallwag AG |orig-year=1980 |year=1986 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-3-444-70130-6 |page=91}}</ref> (exceptionally to {{convert|28|m|ft|-1|abbr=in|disp=or}}), with a trunk up to {{convert|70|-|100|cm|in|-1}} in diameter.

The leaves are [[deciduous]] but with a very long season in leaf, from April to December in the Northern Hemisphere; they are alternate, ovate or circular-ovate shaped,<ref name="Villani-2021">Villani, F., Castellana, S., Beritognolo, I., Cherubini, M., Chiocchini, F., Battistelli, A., & Mattioni, C. (2021). Genetic Variability of Alnus cordata (Loisel.) Duby Populations and Introgressive Hybridization with A. glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. in Southern Italy: Implication for Conservation and Management of Genetic Resources. ''Forests'', ''12''(6), 655.</ref> cordate at base,<ref name="Villani-2021" /> rich glossy green, {{convert|5|-|12|cm|in|abbr=in|frac=8}} long, with a finely serrated margin.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} The bark is smooth with greyish brown colour.<ref name="Villani-2021" /> The trees' large leaf areas are partly due to their long tree tops. Fall arrives usually around the end of November, and the leaves don't change from their original green color. The colorful foliage may last till mid-December in certain years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bobinac |first1=Martin |last2=Jorgić |first2=Đura |last3=Bauer-Živković |first3=Andrijana |last4=Šušić |first4=Nikola |last5=Andrašev |first5=Siniša |date=2020-10-27 |title=Growth and structure of italian alder (''Alnus cordata'' /Loisel./ Duby) linear plantation at age 11 and 16 years at Fruška gora (Serbia) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.31298/sl.144.9-10.2 |journal=Šumarski list |volume=144 |issue=9–10 |pages=462–463 |doi=10.31298/sl.144.9-10.2 |issn=1846-9140}}</ref>

The slender cylindrical male contain 5 - 6 [[catkin]]s,<ref name="TreesGBI-2014">{{Citation |title=Alnus Cordata, Italian Alder |date=2014-01-23 |work=The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland |pages=949–951 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781107252813.084 |access-date=2024-01-20 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/cbo9781107252813.084 |isbn=978-1-108-06935-9 |s2cid=253615865 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> pendulous, reddish and up to {{convert|10|cm|in|0|abbr=in}} long;<ref name="Rushforth" /> pollination is in early spring, before the leaves emerge. The female catkins are ovoid, when mature in autumn {{convert|2|-|3|cm|in|abbr=in|frac=8}} long and {{convert|1.5|-|2|cm|in|abbr=in|frac=8}} broad, dark green to brown, hard, woody, and they develop into pseudo-cones.<ref name="TreesGBI-2014" /> The small winged seeds disperse by wind and through the winter they ripen, turning from green to dark brown colour, and they open the following spring.<ref name="TreesGBI-2014" />

It has three natural growing shapes. 1) Along rivers with room to grow and plenty of water one base will often give rise to four to six stems, which fan out at some ten degrees from vertical. 2) In open meadows near rivers, marshy ground and flooding can cause trees to angle or tilt over, whereupon over a matter of seasons they grow natural bends to return the upper trunk to vertical.  It is not uncommon to find cordatas with S shapes arising from two tilting events.  3) In groves of multiple trees they grow thinner and straighter, such that a grove of a 100 trees can be an excellent renewable source of straight timber good for woodwork.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}