Sorbus americana

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the species described by Pursh, see Sorbus decora.

American mountain-ash

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Sorbus
Section: Sorbus sect. Commixtae
Species:
S. americana
Binomial name
Sorbus americana
Distribution map of native Sorbus americana range.
Synonyms[3]
  • Aucuparia americana (Marshall)
    Nieuwl.
  • Pyrus americana (Marshall)
    DC.
  • Pyrus americana (Marshall)
    Spreng.

The tree species Sorbus americana is commonly known as the American mountain-ash.[4] It is a deciduous perennial tree, native to eastern North America.[5]

The American mountain-ash and related species (most often the European mountain-ash, Sorbus aucuparia) are also referred to as rowan trees.

Description

Sorbus americana is a relatively small tree, reaching 12 metres (40 ft) in height.[5] The American mountain-ash attains its largest specimens on the northern shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior.[6]

It resembles the European mountain-ash, Sorbus aucuparia.

Bark
Light gray, smooth, surface scaly.
lenticular
, finally they become darker and the papery outer layer becomes easily separable.
Wood
Pale brown; light, soft, close-grained but weak.
Specific gravity
, 0.5451; weight of cu. ft., 33.97 lbs.
Winter buds
Dark red, acute, one-fourth to three-quarters of an inch long. Inner scales are very
tomentose
and enlarge with the growing shoot.
Leaves
caducous
.
Flowers
May, June, after the leaves are full grown. Perfect, white, one-eighth of an inch across, borne in flat compound cymes three or four inches across.
acute
, minute, caducous.
Calyx
Urn-shaped, hairy, five-lobed; lobes, short, acute,
imbricate
in bud.
Corolla
orbicular
, contracted into short claws, inserted on calyx, imbricate in bud.
Stamens
Twenty to thirty, inserted on calyx tube;
filaments
thread-like; anthers introrse, two-celled; cells opening longitudinally.
Pistil
Two to three
capitate; ovules
two in each cell.
Fruit
Berry-like
cymous clusters. Ripens in October and remains on the tree all winter. Flesh thin and sour, charged with malic acid; seeds light brown, oblong, compressed; cotyledons fleshy.[6]

Distribution

Native to eastern North America;

  • Eastern Canada – New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec[7]
  • Northeastern United States – Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont
  • North-Central United States – Illinois [n. (Ogle Co.)], Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin. Listed as
    endangered by the State of Illinois[8]
  • Southeastern United States – Appalachian Mountains, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

Biota

The berries of American mountain-ash are eaten by numerous species of birds, including ruffed grouse, ptarmigans, sharp-tailed grouse, blue grouse, American robins, other thrushes, waxwings, jays, and small mammals, such as squirrels and rodents.[9]

American mountain-ash is a preferred browse for moose and white-tailed deer. Moose will eat foliage, twigs, and bark. Up to 80 percent of American mountain-ash stems were browsed by moose in control plots adjacent to exclosures on Isle Royale. Fishers, martens, snowshoe hares, and ruffed grouse also browse American mountain-ash.[9]

Cultivation

Sorbus americana is cultivated as an

ornamental tree
, for use in gardens and parks. It prefers a rich moist soil and the borders of swamps, but will flourish on rocky hillsides.

A cultivar is the red cascade mountain-ash, or Sorbus americana 'Dwarfcrown'. It is planted in gardens, and as a street tree.[10]

Uses

After their first winter freeze, the fruits are edible raw or cooked. They can be used to make pie and jelly.[11]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T135956666A135956668.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Sorbus americana". www.itis.gov.
  3. ^ "Sorbus americana". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.
  4. ^ "Conservation Plant Characteristics for ScientificName (CommonName) - USDA PLANTS". plants.usda.gov.
  5. ^ a b McAllister, H.A. (2005). The genus Sorbus: Mountain Ash and other Rowans. Kew Publishing.
  6. ^ a b Keeler, Harriet L. (1900). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 136–140.
  7. ^ "Sorbus americana". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
  8. ^ "Threatened Search Results - USDA PLANTS". plants.usda.gov.
  9. ^ a b "Sorbus americana". www.fs.fed.us.
  10. ^ "Urban Forest Nursery: Tree Profile for the Red Cascade Mountain Ash". www.urbanforestnursery.com. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  11. OCLC 244766414
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sorbus americana.
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