Monday, June 10, 2019

Plants in Early American Gardens - American Mountainash

American Mountainash (Sorbus americana)

The natural range of this North American species is from Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Michigan and the southern Appalachians to Georgia. First introduced to Europe in 1782, John Bartram’s 1783 Broadside included Sorbus americana as a tree found in “moist rich Soil in rocky Mountains.” Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon listed it as “American Service Tree” in his 1804 Catalogue of American Seeds. In 1867, New York writer Robert Copeland commented that the American mountain ash was best planted in masses. Also known as Dogberry, the bitter fruits (or Rowan berries) are edible to birds and other wildlife.

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