Italian alder (Alnus cordata/Loisel./Desf.) - new species for allochtonous dendroflora of Serbia.

The foreign tree species, Alnus cordata/Loisel./Desf. (Italian alder), (Betulaceae/Loisel./Duby), not previously recorded in the dendroflora of Serbia, is described in this paper. Italian alder trees in an experimental plot in the area of Erdevik, aged 11 years, show good vitality and fast growth, and bear fruits since their 10th year. Tree heights are in range from 10.4 to 16.2 m, and diameters at the breast height range from14.6 to 34.9 cm. The morphological properties of leaves, fruiting organs (“cones”) and male catkins are in concordance with the values in literature sources, although they show great variability. Since the time of plantation establishment, the absolute minimum air temperature in the nearby meteorological station of Sremska Mitrovica was -26.50C, so it can be assumed that the species is frost hardy. On the basis of the researched properties of Italian alder, it can be concluded that this species can be cultivated in Serbia as an ornamental in urban areas and as a fast growing species in forest plantations for biomass production. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 31041: Sumski zasadi u funkciji povecanja posumljenosti Srbije]