Mountain Ash Trees

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Scientific name:  Sorbus aucuparia

Size:  Can grow to a height of 20m

Distribution:  Found throughout the UK

Flowering months:  May to June.  The berries appear in June or July, green at first, and then they ripen to a bright orange-red by late August.

Special features:  The Mountain Ash tree can be found growing at high altitudes - hence the mountain name.  It can be found at 950m - higher than any other native broadleaved tree.

The trunk has a smooth grey coloured bark, and the branches are generally quite sparse allowing plenty of light to reach the ground below.

The leaf stalks, which are about 20cm long, have between five and eight pairs of leaflets with a single leaflet at the tip.  The leaflets have serrated edges.

In Ireland and Scotland farmers used to nail a branch of this tree to their cattle sheds to protect the animals from witchcraft.

Related Pages

• UK Safari Trees Section
• What's Out Now?