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Mountain Ashes

It may be known at any season by the woolly fuzz that whitens buds, twigs and the linings of leaves. The leaflets are small, dull green, with blunt points, and the margins have double teeth, large and small. The flowers and fruits are larger than those of our native species, and more showy.

Mountain ash berries at best are a poor, insipid sort of fruit. But as they hang on the trees very late, birds eat them with apparent satisfaction. During periods of deep snow, these trees are often the sole reliance of our hardy winter residents--the one bar between them and starvation.

The farther north a tree can grow, the more likely it is to have near relatives in the Old World. One mountain ash of Japan can be distinguished only with difficulty from our own; and some authorities consider our two species but varieties of the rowan tree of Europe, which extends its range well into Asia. Intermediate forms, growing wild with the two American species, show how each is apt to vary, and how very close is their relationship. All species are supposed to have sprung from a common ancestor not very long ago.