Sorbus californica

California mountain ash

Family: Rosaceae · Type: shrub · Native

California mountain ash is a native shrub found in the Klamath Ranges, northern California coast ranges, Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada Mountains in moist conifer forest at elevations of 1,200 to 4,300 meters. Flowering from May to June, this shrub produces white flowers with widely ovate petals 3 to 4 millimeters long in clusters. Growing 1 to 2 meters tall with reddish-brown stems that have shiny, sticky buds 5 to 12 millimeters long, it forms a dense, compact shape. Its compound leaves feature 7 to 9 shiny, oblong-ovate leaflets 2 to 4 centimeters long with reddish-brown axillary hairs. The shrub produces bright red, glaucous fruits 6 to 9 millimeters long, adding ornamental interest to mountain forest landscapes.

Habitat: Moist conifer forest

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 1200-4300 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaR, SNH

California counties: Tulare, Amador, Plumas, El Dorado, Mono, Inyo, Placer, Fresno, Siskiyou, Madera, Nevada, Butte, Glenn, Santa Cruz, Modoc, Mariposa, Calaveras, Humboldt, Shasta, Sierra, Trinity, Tuolumne, Del Norte, Tehama, Mendocino, Alpine, Lassen

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.