Mountain Ash - Edible and Medicinal Tree and Berries Fall and Winter Foraging

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In this video I provide information about Mountain-Ash varieties Sorbus spp. My focus is primarily on Western Mountain Ash, and there is information that is applicable to other varieties. It is my opinion that there is considerable overlap among the varieties leading to the information presented still being largely applicable to other varieties of Mountain-Ash.

Ranges of Varieties Discussed

European Mountain-Ash AKA Rowan - Sorbus aucuparia

European Mountain Ash is a variety that is native to Europe but is widely used as an ornamental throughout North America. In many places it has escaped and become established.

American Mountain-Ash - Sorbus americana

American Mountain Ash can be found in Canada from Ontario to Newfoundland. It is also native to the northeast of the United States.

Western Mountain-Ash - Sorbus scopulina

Western Mountain Ash is native to the Yukon, BC, and east as far as Saskatchewan.

Sitka Mountain-Ash - Sorbus sitchensis

Sitka Mountain Ash can be found in the Yukon, BC, and western Alberta.

The following sections are specific to Western Mountain Ash, but once again it is my opinion that a lot of the information is also applicable to other varieties.

Distribution and Description

Widespread and common at low to subalpine elevations in moist forests, openings, and clearings. They are typically between 1 and 5 m tall.

Leaves

The Western Mountain Ash leaves grow as 9-13 narrowly oblong leaflets with sharp pointed tips and sharp toothed edges that are along almost the entire length.
The Sitka Mountain Ash can be distinguished by its broader leaflets with rounded tips. The edges are more finely toothed, and the bottom edge of the leaflets are more rounded.

Food

The berries are orange to scarlet in colour and are edible for all varieties. They can be eaten raw, cooked, or dried, but many indigenous groups considered them to be inedible. The berries are very tart and bitter but become more palatable with successive freezing into the winter. Birds eat the berries especially after they have fermented in the winter.

They are usually cooked, and sweetened to make jams, jellies, pies, ales, or used to make a bitter sweet wine. They have also been added to other sweeter berries or used to marinate meat such as marmot meat.

Medicine

Indigenous people boiled the peeled branches or inner bark to make teas for treating back pain, colds, headaches, rheumatism, sore chests, and internal bleeding.

The berries can be used to make a juice rich in vitamin C. The berry tea has also been used as a gargle for relieving sore throats and tonsillitis.

Please consume wild plants at your own risk! Consult multiple reliable sources before consuming any wild plants! This video is for information and entertainment only!

References

MacKinnon, A. Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada. Lone Pine Media Productions (BC) Ltd. 2014.

Parish, R.; Coupe, R.; and Lloyd, D. Plants of the Inland Northwest and Southern Interior British Columbia. BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing. 2018

Elias, T., & Dykeman, P. Edible Wild Plants. A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. Sterling Publishing Co. Ltd. 1982.