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Western Mountain Ash

Sorbus scopulina

Description:

Flowers: White and small, up to 200 in flat-topped to rounded clusters. May - early July. Fruits: Orange to scarlet glossy berry-like pomes, which persist into winter. Leaves: Alternate, divided into 9-13 oblong yellow-green leaflets with sharp pointed tips. Most of the length of a leaflet is sharply toothed.

Habitat:

Native/ Non-native: Native. Ecology: Widespread and common at low to subalpine levels in moist forests, openings and clearings. Generally absent from warmer, arid areas. Range: Western mountain-ash is native to broad areas in the southern half of Alaska, and broad areas of the Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and scattered areas in Oregon, California, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico.

Notes:

Edible parts of Western Mountain Ash: Fruit - raw, cooked in pies, preserves etc, or dried for later use. A bitter flavour. The fruit becomes sweeter and so tastes best after a frost, it can also be bletted if it is going to be eaten raw. This involves storing the fruit in a cool dry place until it is almost but not quite going rotten. At this stage the fruit of many species has a delicious taste, somewhat like a luscious tropical fruit. The fruit is up to 5mm across. An infusion of the branches has been given to young children with bed-wetting problems. The bark is febrifuge and tonic. It has been used in the treatment of general sickness.

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Silverdale, Washington, USA

Spotted on May 12, 2010
Submitted on Feb 1, 2012

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