Sorbus sitchensis, commonly known as western mountain ash[1] and Sitka mountain-ash, is a small species of shrub of north-western North America.
| Sitka mountain-ash | |
|---|---|
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| Flower cymes | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Sorbus |
| Species: | S. sitchensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Sorbus sitchensis | |
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| Range of Sorbus sitchensis | |
| Synonyms | |
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Description
editA multi-stemmed shrub, it is endemic to north-western North America, from the Pacific coast of Alaska, to the mountains of Washington, Oregon and northern California and eastward to parts of Idaho and western Alberta and Montana. It is widespread in British Columbia.[2]
The otherwise similar Sorbus scopulina has yellow-green sharp-pointed leaflets that are sharply serrated over most of their length.
- Winter buds
- Not sticky with rusty hairs.
- Leaves
- Alternate, compound, six to ten inches long, Leaflets seven to ten, blue-green, lanceolate or long oval, with rounded tip, toothed usually from the middle to the end. In autumn they turn yellow, orange and red. Stipules leaf-like, caducous.
- Flowers
- After the leaves are fully grown, June through September.[3] White, small, 80 or fewer, borne in flat compound cymes three or four inches across.
- Fruit
- Berry-like pome, globular, one-quarter of an inch across, bright pinkish[4] red, borne in cymous clusters. They are enjoyed by the Richardson's grouse.[5]
Size: Typically grows as a small tree or shrub, reaching heights of 1-4 meters.
Environment: Prefers moist, well-drained soils and is commonly found in mountainous regions, coastal forests, and along stream banks.
Uses
editWhile not choice eating, the fruits are consumed by some birds in winter.[6]
References
edit- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Sorbus sitchensis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ Pojar, Jim; Andy MacKinnon (1994). Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Lone Pine Publishing. p. 71. ISBN 1-55105-042-0.
- ^ Sullivan, Steven. K. (2013). "Sorbus sitchensis". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
- ^ McAllister, H.A. 2005. The genus Sorbus: Mountain Ash and other Rowans . Kew Publishing.
- ^ Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 510.
- ^ Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC 1073035766.
Media related to Sorbus sitchensis at Wikimedia Commons
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