American Mountain Ash - Sorbus americana

Rosaceae - Rose Family
"A Year With the Trees" - Tree Number 83
American Mountain Ash
Sorbus americana

Spring

The American Mountain Ash is opening the leaves on her branches in April in Asheville; what a beautiful sight to see.  This American Mountain Ash lives at the Asheville Botanical Gardens.  www.ashevillebotanicalgardens.org

 

American Mountain Ash - Sorbus americana

American Mountain Ash - Sorbus americana

The Mountain Ash tree usually only thrives at life at the higher elevations in the Southern Appalachian mountains. This tree lives near Mt. Pisgah on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I took these photos on March 23rd, when the buds had not opened yet. I will go back soon and see the new leafs emerging.

Sorbus americana

Sorbus americana

Summer

The American Mountain Ash leaves have 11 - 17 narrow, pointed saw toothed edges that are stalkless and are pinnately compound.  These are the green green leaves of summer.

You will only find the American Mountain Ash at high elevations in the Appalachian Mountains. The beautiful white flowers will appear in Spring and the red berries in the summer.

This tree is worth a trip to the mountains to find it. Make your way up the blue ridge parkway or up to Clingman's dome in the Smokies to find this tree.

Fall 

Mountain Ash, Sorbus americana

Mountain Ash, Sorbus americana

This Mountain Ash Tree lives in the high country in the Smoky Mountain National Park.
  The red berries were all over the trees in September.

The American Mountain Ash is in it's full fruiting splendor in September near Devil's courthouse and Mt. Pisgah on the BlueRidge Parkway.

Sorbus americana, American Mtn. Ash

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Winter

The American Mountain Ash

The American Mountain Ash

The Mountain Ash Tree in late fall and early winter.

This American Mountain Ash lives at the Asheville Botanical Gardens.  www.ashevillebotanicalgardens.org .

The Champion American Mountain Ash Trees

The Champion American Mountain Ash Tree lives in Highlands, NC.  This tree is 52 feet tall and has a circumference of 47 inches. 

My favorite American Ash Tree

My favorite American Ash Trees lives at the Mt. Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway at a high elevation.  You can see them by the turn in off the parkway at the Inn.  This tree is spectacular all year long. 

Plant an American Ash Tree

Bears are often found in Mountain ash trees when the berries are ripe. Many other animals also enjoy the berries including moose, white-tailed deer and several species of grouse. Birds that eat the berries are said to become mildly drunk. When the fruits appear in September, fall colors are soon to follow.

An article from Audubon speaks well for why we must plant native.  I am putting a link here for it is so well written that speaks the truth.
http://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-matter

here is a brief quote from the article,
"Native plants are those that occur naturally in a region in which they evolved. They are the ecological basis upon which life depends, including birds and people. Without them and the insects that co-evolved with them, local birds cannot survive. For example, research by the entomologist Doug Tallamy has shown that native oak trees support over 500 species of caterpillars whereas ginkgos, a commonly planted landscape tree from Asia, host only 5 species of caterpillars. When it takes over 6,000 caterpillars to raise one brood of chickadees, that is a significant difference."

For more info on Doug Tallamy, http://www.bringingnaturehome.net/


For the love of the trees,
Becky

...from my journal