Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Rosales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sorbus americana
FAMILY
Rosaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Mountain-ash at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
This small-to-medium tree is showy in most seasons; in the summer its creamy-white corymbs are attractive, the leaves turn a bright orange-red in fall, and the red berries persist well into winter, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sorbus americana
FAMILY
Rosaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sorbus americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Sorbus americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 097-19-001:
Sorbus americana FAMILY Rosaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Pyrus americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sorbus americana
COMMON NAME:
American Mountain-ash, American Rowan
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_422
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_soam3_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm170224_245
February Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm170224_246
February Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm170224_248
February Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm170224_251b
February Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm090610_122
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm090610_125
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Rachis reddish, leaflets 11 to 17, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm090610_134
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Flowers less than 1/8" in diameter, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm090610_136
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Flowers borne in dense, compound, flat-topped inflorescences, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm090610_139
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Upper leaf surfaces dark green, lower leaf surfaces whitish, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm090610_145
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaflets are serrate, and the teeth are acuminate, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow jkm150606_151
June Avery County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Keith Bradley kab_sorbus_americana_0740
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow s090610_a
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaflets opposite, more than 3x long as broad, margins toothed; red petiole, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow s090610_b
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm0507n_04
July Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_s_americana_braba06_7
July Towns-Union Counties GA
Brasstown Bald
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_s_americanabrsbld06_1
July Towns-Union Counties GA
Brasstown Bald
)
JK Marlow s050717_a
July Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves with 11-17 long-pointed glabrous leaflets, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm090913_075
September Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Fruit an orange-red, globose or oval pome, about 1/4" in diameter, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Ron Lance rwl1440_a
September-October?
The red berries persist well into winter, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_s_americana_brsbald15
October Towns-Union Counties GA
Brasstown Bald
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_sorbus_americana_2
October
Twigs stout, grayish-brown to purplish-brown; resinous and aromatic within, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_sorbus_americana_3
October
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sorbus americana
FAMILY
Rosaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sorbus americana
FAMILY
Rosaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sorbus americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Sorbus americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 097-19-001:
Sorbus americana
FAMILY
Rosaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Pyrus americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sorbus americana
1440
Tree
Perennial
Habitat: High elevation forests, balds, and high elevation rock outcrops, often with Picea, Abies, and/or Betula alleghaniensis, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Common in NC Mountains, rare in GA
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 13-17 leaflets
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer
White
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
5 united sepals
5 petals
15-20 stamens
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Pome
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p076
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p237
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p053
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p073
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p297
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p373
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p070
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p116
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p11
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p262
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p334