In the summer, the speckled alder, Alnus incana, hides in plain sight along the Beech Forest trail in Provincetown; its leaves look almost identical to those of Fagus grandifolia. This week, though, the shrubby tree is revealing itself. Red catkins are emerging from the tips of its branches. These will eventually form the cone-like nutlets that house its seeds and stay attached through the winter; last year’s crop still adorns this native plant. Pausing to admire the spring bloom, one might also notice the olive-tinged bark speckled with pores — these are the gas-exchanging lenticels that give the tree its common name.
