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 north of Mexico, vol. 9 (2014)
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.
)
USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_239
)
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 jkm240905_0793
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 north of Mexico, vol. 9
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: Moist forests, balds, and rock outcrops, often with Picea, Abies, and/or Betula alleghaniensis, southwards only at high elevations, 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.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 13-17 leaflets
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
5 united sepals
5 petals
15-20 stamens
Bisexual
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
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p132
- 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
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