47 



XVII. 



ROSACEA. 



SORBUS. 



THE MOUNTAIN ASH. 



PYRUS AUCUPARIA. 



A native of the Northern Hemisphere, this 

 tree, as its name suggests, is more generally found 

 in hilly districts. It revels in the loose soil of an 

 open and moist situation on mountainous slopes, 

 and will grow freely among bleak and rocky 

 crags, at a great altitude, where other trees would 

 perish : — 



" How clung the rowan to the rock 



And through the foliage showed his head 

 With narrow leaves and berries red." 



Its winged leaves, with pairs of serrated oblong 

 leaflets, are its only form of resemblance to the 

 common ash, to which it is of course no relation. 

 Like many small trees, it grows rapidly for the 

 first few years ; then the top begins to spread, 

 further upward growth becomes very slow, and a 

 height of more than about twenty feet is rarely 



