Sorbus decora

Plant Characteristics

Habit		tree
Height:	⇕	30 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 30.
Width:	⇔	15 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Bloom:	❀	early spring, mid spring, late spring

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
Features:	✓	flowers
USDA Zones:		2 to 8
Flower features:	❀	white

Scientific Names

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Sorbus decora, commonly known as the showy mountain-ash or "dogberry" is a deciduous shrub or very small tree native to northeastern North America. It occurs throughout the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Mixedwood forest region, the New England-Acadian forest region, and the eastern Canadian boreal forests.

Showy mountain-ash is very similar to the closely related American mountain-ash. Like the American mountain-ash (Sorbus Americana), the showy mountain-ash has pinnately compound leaves and often large clusters of flowers and fruits. However, a useful distinguishing feature of this species is its shiny, sticky buds .

It is often cultivated as an ornamental plant for its cold-hardiness, its attractive flowers, and its large clusters of small red berry-like pomes.

The fruits are an important source of food for wildlife, particularly birds in the winter and early spring.

Read about Sorbus decora in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Sorbus decora, Schneid. (S. americana var. decora, Sarg. Pyrus sambucifolia, Gray, not Cham. & Schlecht. Pyrus sitchensis, Rob. & Fern., not Piper. S. scopulina, Brit., not Greene). Small tree or shrub, closely allied to the preceding: lfts. 7-15, oval to ovate-lanceolate, or oblong, obtuse to short-acuminate, serrate, glabrous and dark green above, rather pale and usually pubescent beneath when young, or glabrous. 1 1/2 - 3 in. long: fls. 1/4 – 1/3 in. across, in 2-4-in.-broad and rather loose corymbs, sometimes few-fld.: fr. globose, ovoid when young, red, about 1/3 in. across, with more or less upright calyx-lobes. May. Labrador to Minn., south to N. Y. and Vt. S.S. 4:173, 174.—Often confounded with the preceding species; intermediate forms are not uncommon in regions where the two meet. Both are very handsome in autumn with their large clusters of bright red fr. and particularly S. decora is often planted for its showy fr. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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External links

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