''Sorbus sitchensis'', commonly known as western mountain ash and Sitka mountain-ash, is a small shrub of northwestern North America.

Description

A multistemmed shrub, it is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to northwestern North America, from the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

coast of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

, to the mountains of Washington,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

and northern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and eastward to parts of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

and western

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

. It is widespread in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. The otherwise similar ''

Sorbus scopulina ''Sorbus scopulina'' is a species of rowan that is native to western North America, primarily in the Rocky Mountains. The common name of this species is often given as Greene's mountain-ash, and is so named in honor of American botanist Edward Le ...

'' 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. 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 red, borne in cymous clusters. They are enjoyed by the Richardson's grouse.

Uses

While not choice eating, the fruits are consumed by some birds in winter.

References

* sitchensis Flora of Subarctic America Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States {{sorbus-stub