black alder

American  

noun

1. Also called winterberry.  a holly, Ilex verticillata, of eastern and midwestern North America, bearing red fruit that remains through early winter.

2. a European alder, Alnus glutinosa, having a dark-gray bark and sticky foliage.

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Etymology

Origin of black alder

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805

Example Sentences

Winter floods are also becoming more frequent, with less flooding in spring, causing large areas of floodplain meadows, marshes, old lakes, wet oak and black alder forests to dry out.

From The Guardian • Mar. 6, 2020

Intermixed is the white cedar, or arbor-vitæ, and some trees of black alder, two or three feet thick, and sixty or seventy in height.

From Oregon and Eldorado or, Romance of the Rivers by Bulfinch, Thomas

An allied species, Rhamnus Frangula, is also common in England, and is known as berry-bearing or black alder.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various

Bushes of black alder, with a few poplars and twining shrubs, are scattered over the beaver meadows, some of which have high stony banks, and little islands of trees.

From In the Forest Or, pictures of life and scenery in the woods of Canada by Traill, Catharine Parr Strickland

Beautiful bright red berries, dotted or clustered along the naked twigs of the black alder, add an indispensable cheeriness to the somber winter landscape.

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje