Sorbus decora

Sorbus decora, commonly known as the northern mountain ash,[1] showy mountain-ash,[2] or dogberry, is a deciduous shrub or very small tree native to northeastern North America. It occurs throughout the Laurentian Mixed Forest Province, the New England-Acadian forest region, and the eastern Canadian boreal forests.

Sorbus decora
At the Akureyri Botanical Gardens
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Sorbus
Subgenus: Sorbus subg. Sorbus
Species:
S. decora
Binomial name
Sorbus decora
Natural range

Description

Showy mountain-ash grows 4–10 metres (13–33 ft) tall. Its leaves are odd-pinnately compound, with 1117 leaflets. Each leaflet is 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long and 1–2.5 cm (38–1 in) wide. All parts are hairless to slightly hairy. Flowers are borne in 125- to more than 400-flowered panicles 6–25 cm (2 149 34 in) across. Each flower is 5–7.5 mm (1414 in) across and has five white petals 2.5–3.5 mm (33218 in) long, 1420 stamens, and carpels with 34 styles. The fruits (pomes) are bright red to orange-red and 4–7 mm (532932 in) across.[3]

Similar species

Showy mountain-ash is very similar to the closely related American mountain-ash (Sorbus americana). Like the American mountain-ash, the showy mountain-ash has odd-pinnately compound leaves and often large clusters of flowers and fruits. Showy mountain-ash can be distinguished by its shiny, sticky buds,[4] and its slightly larger flowers and fruit.[2] It is said to bloom a week earlier.[3]

Uses

It is often cultivated as an ornamental plant for its cold-hardiness, its attractive flowers, and its large clusters of small red berry-like pomes.

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

References

  1. "Sorbus decora". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  2. Chayka, Katy (2016). "Sorbus decora (Showy Mountain-ash)". MinnesotaWildflowers.info.
  3. Zika, Peter F.; Bailleul, Stéphane M. (2014). "Sorbus decora". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 9. New York and Oxford via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  4. Farrar, J.L. (1995). Trees in Canada. Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry and Whitside/Canadian Forest Service.
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