Although first introduced into cultivation in the 1870's and praised for its ornamental character, Alnus maritima (Marsh.) Muhl. ex Nutt. (seaside alder) remains a rare woody species with unrealised potential. The ornamental promise of A. maritima was first recognised by Thomas Meehan, an Englishman who emigrated to the United States (Philadelphia, Pa). In 1848 after serving for two years at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Mr. Meehan was best known as the publisher of Meehan's Monthly (1891- 1902) and as the author of The American Handbook of Ornamental Trees (1853) and The Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States (1878-1880). In 1878, Mr. Meehan donated specimens of A. maritima to the Arnold Arboretum in Massachusetts.