mountain ash

American  

[moun-tn ash] / ˈmaʊn tn ˌæʃ /

noun

1. 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.

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mountain ash British  

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

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Etymology

Origin of mountain ash

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 • Jan. 24, 2024

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

From Seattle Times • Nov. 12, 2022

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

From Science Magazine • Dec. 2, 2021

But properties further into a dense forest of mountain ash trees were “undefendable”.

From The Guardian • Jan. 4, 2020

On the mountain ash the pear becomes earlier.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 7 "Horticulture" to "Hudson Bay" by Various