mountain ash

noun

: any of various deciduous trees or shrubs (genus Sorbus) of the rose family with pinnate leaves and small usually white flowers in terminal corymbs and small red or orange-red berrylike fruits that are pomes see american mountain ash, european mountain ash

Examples of mountain ash in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Also known as rowan trees, mountain ash trees (Sorbus spp.) are small understory trees or shrubs that usually grow between 15 and 30 feet tall. —Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Nov. 2025

Look for rowan trees, also known as mountain ash, a native species that shimmers a glorious yellow with red berries during this season, and beech, those huge anchors of so many British forests with russet-brown leaves all autumn. —Chloe Arrojado, AFAR Media, 21 Aug. 2025

Both black bears and grizzly bears eat huckleberries, chokecherries, snowberries, mountain ash berries, and hawthorn berries, among countless other varieties. —Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 30 May 2024

Norway spruce, American mountain ash, weeping willows, mugo pine and shellbark hickory are just a few examples of trees that are best equipped to survive and thrive in the Great Lake State. —Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 26 Apr. 2024

Dingle uses, amongst other botanicals, rowan berry from the mountain ash trees, fuchsia, bog myrtle, hawthorn and heather for a taste of the Irish landscape. —Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mountain ash

• calabash
• backlash
• chumash
• eyelash
• moustache
• mustache
• noncash
• potash
• rehash
• whiplash
• bash
• brash

Kids Definition

mountain ash

noun

: any of various trees related to the roses and having leaves divided into numerous leaflets and red or orange-red fruits