Porosity: diffuse porous
Arrangement: mainly radial multiples of two to four pores
Vessels: medium, moderately numerous to very numerous
Parenchyma: diffuse-in-aggregates, though generally not visible
Rays: narrow, with close spacing; aggregate rays are sporadically spaced and very wide
Lookalikes/Substitutes: Fruitwoods in the Rosaceae family—such as pear (Pyrus communis) or apricot (Prunus armeniaca) can bear a superficial resemblance to Nepalese alder. However, fruitwoods will lack aggregate rays and may have a semi-ring-porous pore arrangement (such as apricot), or have smaller, numerous solitary pores (like pear).
Notes: The defining characteristic of Alnus species is its large, very sporadically occurring aggregate rays. On the face grain of the wood, the rays may be mistaken for occasional defects in the wood. With the exception of oak species (Quercus genus), alder stands as one of the few temperate species in the northern hemisphere that has aggregate rays.
i i think this is a great wood and one of my friends was from nepal which has mount everest which isnt a volcano but a fault block mountain i really enjoy this wood because it is good for smoking lots of fish and I enjoy building with the wood and would buy again