''Sorbus decora'', commonly known as the northern mountain ash, showy mountain-ash, Greenland mountain-ash, and dogberry, is a species of

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub or very small tree native to northeastern North America.

Description

''Sorbus decora'' grows tall. Its leaves are odd-pinnately

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...

, with 11–17 leaflets. Each leaflet is long and wide. All parts are hairless to slightly hairy. Flowers are borne in 125- to more than 400-flowered

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

s across. Each flower is across and has five white

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s long, 14–20

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s, and

carpel Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more ...

s with 3–4 styles. The fruits (

pome In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Pome fruits consist of a central "core" containing multiple small seeds, which is enveloped by a tough membrane and surrounded by a ...

s) are bright red to orange-red and across.

Distribution and habitat

''Sorbus decora'' occurs throughout the

Laurentian Mixed Forest Province The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province, also known as the North Woods, is a forested ecoregion in eastern Upper Midwest North America in the United States and Canada. Similar, though not necessarily entirely identical regions, are identified by t ...

, the

New England-Acadian forest New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

region, the eastern Canadian boreal forests and

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. It cannot be found north of 62°15′N, which confines it the southern tip of Greenland, generally deeper up the western fjords, such as the

Qinngua Valley Qinngua Valley, also called Qinnguadalen, Kanginsap Qinngua and Paradisdalen, is a valley in southern Greenland, about from the nearest settlement of Tasiusaq, Kujalleq. The valley has the only natural forest in Greenland and is about long, runn ...

Similar species

''Sorbus decora'' is very similar to the closely related

American mountain-ash The tree species ''Sorbus americana'' is commonly known as the American mountain-ash. It is a deciduous perennial tree, native to eastern North America. The American mountain-ash and related species (most often the European mountain-ash, ''Sorb ...

(''Sorbus americana''). Like the American mountain-ash, the showy mountain-ash has odd-

pinnately compound leaves Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

and often large clusters of flowers and fruits. Showy mountain-ash can be distinguished by its shiny, sticky buds,Farrar, J.L. (1995). ''Trees in Canada.'' Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry and Whitside/Canadian Forest Service. and its slightly larger flowers and fruit. It is said to bloom a week earlier.

Uses

It is often cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

for its cold-hardiness, its attractive flowers, and its large clusters of small red berry-like

s. The fruits are an important source of food for wildlife, particularly birds in the winter and early spring.

References

External links

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Sorbus decora Information
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'
Interactive Distribution Map for Sorbus decora
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q966130, from2=Q17240531 decora Flora of Ontario Trees of Northern America Flora of Greenland Flora without expected TNC conservation status