mountain ash

[ moun-tn ash ]

noun

1. alsocalledcomma British, whitten. any of several small trees of the genus Sorbus, of the rose family, having flat-topped clusters of small, white flowers and bright-red to orange berries.
2. any of certain other trees, as several Australian species of eucalyptus.

mountain ash

noun

1. any of various trees of the rosaceous genus Sorbus, such as S aucuparia ( European mountain ash or rowan ), having clusters of small white flowers and bright red berries
2. any of several Australian eucalyptus trees, such as Eucalyptus regnans

Word History and Origins

Origin of mountain ash¹

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

These sites span a large rainfall gradient and vary enormously in their structure: from sparse and short arid woodlands in Western Australia to towering, 90-m tall mountain ash forests in Tasmania.

From Science Daily

The familiar workhorses of the birds’ berry buffet, like Pyracantha and holly, mountain ash and Nandina, are all pretty enough.

From Seattle Times

In the understory, wildflowers bloom and bees buzz; blueberries, mountain ash, birch, and other shrubs and small trees thrive.

From Science Magazine

“We are in the top five national collections for maples, magnolias, oaks, mountain ash, hollies, viburnums and the family Pinaceae — pines, firs, spruces, larches, hemlocks and true cedars.”

From Seattle Times

There’s woody shrubs like green alder and willows and mountain ash, occasional Douglas fir popping up through the shrubs, and then there’s a dense layer of huckleberries.

From Science Magazine