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The Siberian alder (Alnus hirsuta var. sibirica) belongs to Betulaceae (the Birch family). It is a tall deciduous tree that is distributed throughout various regions of Japan, as well as on the Korean Peninsula, in China, on Sakhalin, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and in Eastern Siberia. It grows in hilly to mountainous areas and reaches a height of 10 to 20 m. The leaves are broadly ovate with deeply serrated margins. The leaf veins are distinct and sunken. Around April, before the leaves unfurl, it produces pendulous inflorescences. The female inflorescences appear below the male ones. The fruit is elliptical and ripens to a blackish-brown color. The entire plant -including the leaves, branches, and winter buds- is almost entirely hairless. In Chinese, it is called "遼東榿木" (liao dong qi mu), the same as the Manchurian alder. In Korean, it is known as "Mul-gaem-namu" (물갬나무). It is a compound word meaning "water: 물" + "dye: 갬" + "wood: 나무".
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