WESTERN MOUNTAIN-ASH 
Sorbus sambucifolia (Chamisso and Schlechtendal) Roemer 
Western mountain-ash usually grows in stony places, beneath large 
trees of in openings in the forest. In especially favorable situations it 
sometimes develops into a tree 20 feet high. It is not a telative of the 
ashes, as its name would imply, but belongs to the Apple Family. The 
brilliant scarlet fruits, resembling miniature apples, are a favorite food 
of birds, especially in winter. The flavor of these fruits is not agreeable 
to the human palate, although when crushed in water they yield a 
subacid bevetage that is not unpleasant. The small white flowets, 
which unfold in spring, ate arranged in broad, flat-topped clustets. The 
buds, before expansion, are cream-colored. The open flowers ate very 
sweet-scented. 
A related European species is called rowan-tree or rowan. 
This species of mountain-ash ranges from the southern Rockies of 
Arizona and New Mexico, northward to Alberta and Alaska. It is 
known also from Siberia. 
The specimen from which the painting was made grew on the 
motor toad near Vermilion Summit, about twelve miles from Castle 
Station, Albetta, at an altitude of 5,000 feet. 
PLATE 162 
