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NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Sorbus americana

Mountain-ash, Mountain Ash, American Rowan, American Mountain-ash

Scientific Name:

Sorbus americana

Genus:

Sorbus

Species Epithet:

americana

Common Name:

Mountain-ash, Mountain Ash, American Rowan, American Mountain-ash

Plant Type

Tree/Shrub

Life Cycle

Perennial

Plant Family

Rosaceae (Rose Family)

Native/Alien:

NC Native

Invasive Status:

(*Key)

Size:

12-36 ft.

Bloom Color(s):

White

Light:

Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day, Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day

Soil Moisture:

Moist

Bloom Time:

June, July

Growing Area:

Mountains

Habitat Description:

High elevation forests, balds, and high elevation rock outcrops, often with Picea, Abies, and/or Betula alleghaniensis. Common above 4000’ elevation; scarce below that.

Leaf Arrangement:

Alternate

Leaf Retention:

Deciduous

Leaf Type:

Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like

Leaf Form:

Compound

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Wildlife Value:

Important for Wildlife

Landscape Value:

Suitable for home landscapes

State Rank:

S3: Vulnerable (*Key)

Global Rank:

G5 - Secure (*Key)

Notes:

Bright red fruits and red-orange foliage in the fall. The compound leaves, with toothed leaflets, resemble ash leaves, but unlike ash the leaves are alternate, not opposite.
Mountain-ash reaches the southern limits of its range in the southern Appalachians.

Pinnately-compound leaves with 13-17 leaflets

Swain County, NC

The Scientific Name is Sorbus americana. You will likely hear them called Mountain-ash, Mountain Ash, American Rowan, American Mountain-ash. This picture shows the Pinnately-compound leaves with 13-17 leaflets of Sorbus americana

Bettina Darveaux

Tree with mature fruits in mid-October

Haywood County, NC

The Scientific Name is Sorbus americana. You will likely hear them called Mountain-ash, Mountain Ash, American Rowan, American Mountain-ash. This picture shows the Tree with mature fruits in mid-October of Sorbus americana

Bettina Darveaux

Close-up of the beautiful red fruit clusters of berry-like pomes

Haywood County, NC

The Scientific Name is Sorbus americana. You will likely hear them called Mountain-ash, Mountain Ash, American Rowan, American Mountain-ash. This picture shows the Close-up of the beautiful red fruit clusters of berry-like pomes of Sorbus americana

Bettina Darveaux

The bright red fruit clusters are a familiar site at high elevations, and persist into winter

Buncombe County NC

The Scientific Name is Sorbus americana. You will likely hear them called Mountain-ash, Mountain Ash, American Rowan, American Mountain-ash. This picture shows the The bright red fruit clusters are a familiar site at high elevations, and persist into winter of Sorbus americana

Lisa Lofland Gould

High-elevation species with pinnately compound leaves and corymbs of showy white flowers.

Blue Ridge Parkway, Avery Co., NC

The Scientific Name is Sorbus americana. You will likely hear them called Mountain-ash, Mountain Ash, American Rowan, American Mountain-ash. This picture shows the High-elevation species with pinnately compound leaves and corymbs of showy white flowers. of Sorbus americana

Bettina Darveaux

Developing fruits are initially greenish in color.

Jackson Co., NC

The Scientific Name is Sorbus americana. You will likely hear them called Mountain-ash, Mountain Ash, American Rowan, American Mountain-ash. This picture shows the Developing fruits are initially greenish in color. of Sorbus americana

Bettina Darveaux

Links:

USDA PLANTS Database Record

https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/plant_list.php

https://nc.audubon.org/conservation/bird-friendly-communities/bird-friendly-native-plants

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/sorbus-americana/

https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/sorbus/americana/



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