European mountain-ash (rowan)
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
© Mike Edley (Photo ID #8744)
Introduction
This is a deciduous species of small tree that introduced from Eurasia.
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Species Information
General:
Small tree, 5-15 m tall; branches ascending to spreading, greyish; winter buds and young growth densely greyish-soft-hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, pinnately compound; leaflets 11 to 15 (17), oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 2-6 cm long, sharp-pointed at the tip, mostly smooth, saw-toothed almost to the base.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a flat-topped, branched cluster of numerous (75 or more) small flowers, the branches more or less white-hairy; corollas white, the petals 5, nearly circular, 3-4 mm long; calyces hairy, 5-lobed, the lobes triangular; ovaries inferior; stamens 15-20.
Fruits:
Berry-like pomes (like miniature apples), globe-shaped, 9-11 mm wide, scarlet, not glaucous, 2- to 5-chambered; seeds 1 or 2 per chamber.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Orange
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
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|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
745 | 11 | 1500 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
27 | 0 | 135 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
192 | 4 | 292 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 1 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
22 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CDF(2), CWH(8), ESSF(5), ICH(1), PP(1), SBS(2) | ||
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Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
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Habitat and Range
Mesic to moist, open forests, fields and roadsides in the lowland zone; frequent in SW BC, rare northward along the coast; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Pyrus aucuparia (L.) Gaertn.
Sorbus aucuparia var. xanthocarpa Hartwig & Rümpler
Taxonomic Keys
1. Plants becoming trees over 5 m tall; leaflets usually more than 13, winter buds covered with long soft-hairy grey hairs; styles 2 or 3...........................S. aucuparia
1. Plants shrubby, usually less than 5 m tall; leaflets rarely as many as 13, winter buds not covered with long soft grey hairs; styles 3 to 5. 2. Winter buds rusty-hairy; calyces smooth on outside; leaflets blunt or rounded at the tip, toothed for not more than 3/4 of their length; styles 4 or 5, fruit red, glaucous...............S. sitchensis 2. Winter buds sticky, sparsely white-hairy; calyces hairy on outside; leaflets sharp-pointed at tip, toothed for most of their length; styles 3 or 4; fruit orange, not glaucous................S. scopulina Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |
Taxonomic Notes
Sorbus aucuparia is considered an emerging invasive species in the Vancouver region by the Greater Vancouver Invasive Plant Council (2009). An emerging invasive is defined by them as: currently found in isolated, sparse populations but are rapidly expanding their range within the region. It is already well-established in the Fraser Delta.
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