Sorbus sitchensis

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

Description
A multi-stemmed shrub, it is endemic to north-western North America, from the Pacific coast of Alaska, to the mountains of Washington, Oregon and northern California and eastward to parts of Idaho and western Alberta and Montana. It is widespread in British Columbia.

The otherwise similar Sorbus scopulina has yellow-green sharp-pointed leaflets that are sharply serrated over most of their length.

Size: Typically grows as a small tree or shrub, reaching heights of 1-4 meters.
 * 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.

Environment: Prefers moist, well-drained soils and is commonly found in mountainous regions, coastal forests, and along stream banks.



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