On a number of occasions I have had the privilege of being asked to contribute to the long running Wood and Wood Products Magazine article, Wood of the Month.  For the most part, I am certain most of you who receive this newsletter also receive and take the time to read the aforementioned articles as each is always a rich source of information about a trending popular or exotic species, always so well written and presented by Jo-Ann Kaiser.  The subject of the most recent article, however, is one I am willing to risk accusations of redundancy here, given the fact that our industry has generated some confusion about it.  Red alder along with the heartwood of most species of birch commercially harvested domestically, have both been offered as an alternative for one of our most treasured domestic species, American Black Cherry.

Following is the narrative I submitted for consideration towards this topic.  While not a reproduction of the article in its entirety, it speaks to the controversial use mentioned above:

Red alder (Alnus rubra) has been until recently a species with an identity crisis of sorts, at least as a decorative hardwood plywood face veneer.  It, along with the rare 'red birch' (a difficult to obtain clear grade of all heartwood of Betula spp.) has often been billed as a 'poor man's cherry,' due to its characteristic color of ruddy brown to cherry red and its relative abundance and lesser commercial value compared to the more expensive American Black Cherry (Prunus serotina).  The biggest problem facing the species as a cherry substitute is that it is, by some accounts, a 'weed' tree that grows in abundance along a 120 mile strip of real estate from the central California coast all the way to the southern Alaska coast, generally in clusters of gnarly individuals.  As a shade intolerant species, it grows very rapidly to avoid competition for sunshine, resulting in twisted and bent main stems or trunks.  Because of this, slicing alder into decorative veneers results in little clear veneer that can be book matched as most sliced woods would usually be, and a lot of veneer with scattered knots, bark pockets, and narrow widths.

After numerous attempts to represent it as a cherry substitute, it has finally gained 'stand alone' status and is a frequently specified species for kitchen cabinetry.  For reasons mentioned above, it is offered in two categories, clear and knotty.  Generally, the clear veneer is a color and/or grain match from a number of trees to produce a clean surface, reasonably free of knots, bark pockets, and discoloration, while the knotty veneer is deliberately randomly mis-matched to produce a uniform distribution of the natural characteristics clear grades are designed to avoid.

Red alder belongs to the same family as birch, Betulaceae, and indeed is similar in color to the heartwood of that species.  It is considerably less dense and much softer with a specific gravity of .53, as compared to .71 for yellow birch (B. alleghaniensis).  It lacks in bending strength and shock resistance, but makes up for it in its stability and finishability.  Alder is considered a diffuse porous species like birch, and it has fairly distinct growth rings that give it a nice grain configuration when sliced.  Like all tree species, alder contains rays, although for the most part they are visible only with a lens. However, larger aggregate rays that are somewhat similar in appearance to worm track in maple occasionally occur to give the species a unique appearance.

As always, thanks so much, and until next time, 

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