the.com/alder
the tree that builds Venice from underwater, refusing to rot where everything else surrenders
means A water-loving tree of the birch family, known for its catkins and for timber that resists rot when kept submerged.
from From Old English 'alor' (also 'aler'), a Germanic tree-name with cousins in Old High German 'elira' and modern German 'Erle.' The intrusive 'd' is a latecomer — speakers slid it in for ease of pronunciation, much as they did turning 'thunor' into 'thunder.' The deeper root is reconstructed back to Proto-Indo-European, possibly related to a color-word meaning 'reddish' or 'brown,' perhaps for the wood's hue when freshly cut, which famously turns a startling orange-red.
- venice foundations
- Millions of alder piles still hold the city up
- loves wet
- Thrives in swamps where other trees drown
- nitrogen fixer
- Bacteria in its roots fertilize the soil free
- bleeds orange
- Cut wood turns from white to fiery orange
- clog wood
- Traditional Dutch clogs were carved from it
black alder — alnus glutinosa, common wetland tree across europe and western asia with nitrogen-fixing root nodules
red alder — alnus rubra, dominant riparian tree in pacific northwest from california to british columbia
speckled alder — alnus incana, northern shrub alder found across canada and northeastern us in wet areas