Also known as Aile or Andean Aliso. Alnus acuminata is a tree belonging to the Betulaceae family. It is typical of the Andean region and is distributed in an altitude range that goes from 1,500 meters above sea level to 3,400 meters above sea level, being found in the departments of Antioquia, Boyacá, Caldas, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Huila, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Quindío, Risaralda. , Santander, Tolima and Valle. (UNAL, 2021).
Alnus acuminata is an arboreal species that can reach up to 30 meters in height. It has a straight grayish stem in which you can see small yellow dots called "lenticels", its leaves are dark green with a serrated margin and a quite characteristic venation of the species since it is so marked and moves to the leaf margin. The flowers are small, between green and yellowish, the fruits are brown cones.
The Alisos are considered pioneer species since they develop well in disturbed spaces and prepare the soil for other species that in the future will settle in the area, thanks to their symbiotic relationship with the Mycorrhizae, which are fungi that live in the soil. and absorb sugars from the root of the plant in exchange for delivering nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen.(CONABIO, 2021).
(Pinchaflor ferrugíneo, Diglossa sittoides
Several studies have confirmed that the Aliso is quite visited by fauna (birds, insects, etc.), however, in Cundinamarca it is regularly frequented by a bird called Diglossa sittoide, commonly known as Cinnamon Picaflor , due to the fact that, being this bird a melliferous species, it feeds on the nectar that it finds in the flowers in this case of the Aliso (Ramírez, Gómez, Varón, & Villa, 2014).