The black alder has got its name due to how its newly-developed leaves feel when touching them. The leaves have clear nerves and like a pit where the furthest out of the leaves of other trees is a tip. The same tree carries both the hanger with spores, and the hinges, which look like cones, with seeds. Klibbalen is usually found on wet land, along the waterways and in swamps and marshes. The seeds are very water resistant, and are released early in the spring so that they can be transported with melt water to new places. 

Freshly cut alder wood is yellow, but blushes to red when it comes into contact with air. Several insects, caterpillars, lichens and fungi are completely dependent on the trees for their survival. The wood has been used for wood carvings and also for wooden shoes. Coal from the alder was used to the common black powder. Alder bark has long been used as a colorant fabric for fabric and yarn. The myth says Venice rests on logs of alder. The truth is that the piles or stakes consist of a variety of woods, including alder, but also larch, elm and poplar.

Lat: Alnus glutinosa, Finl: Tervaleppä, Eng: Black alder