Alnus rhombifolia

White alder is a fast deciduous tree to 20' first years then slower to 50 ft.. Native to moist canyons on the west coast. A nice- looking and fragrant shade tree. It likes sun and water. It is not drought tolerant, but very fast, to 30 feet in 5-6 years. Its shade is rather dense(cool) to garden under unless you work at opening up the limb structure and even then it is very competitive. In the wild places we have seen there are almost no understory plants growing near white alder. This tree is a nitrogen fixing plant. This tree will grow right in the creek bed with the water flowing around it. Useful for that wet spot that everything else drowns in.