Sorbus californica

Greene

Pittonia 4: 131. 1900.

Common names: California mountain ashE
Endemic
Synonyms: Sorbus sitchensis subsp. californica (Greene) Abrams
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 9. Treatment on page 441. Mentioned on page 435, 442, 444, 445.

Shrubs, 10–20 (–40) dm. Stems 1–8; bark dark gray; winter buds red to brown, shiny, conic, 5–12 mm, slightly glutinous, sparsely hairy except along scale margins and apex, hairs rufous. Leaves pinnately compound; stipules often persistent, margins rufous-hairy; blade pale abaxially, shiny, green adaxially, leaflets 7–9 (–11), opposite or subopposite, oblong to elliptic, sometimes narrowly elliptic, 2.5–4.1 (–4.5) × 0.9–2 cm, l/w ratio 2.1–2.6, margins finely to coarsely serrate, sometimes doubly serrate, apex obtuse to acute, surfaces soon glabrous, leaflet axils and petiole bases hairy, hairs rufous. Panicles 25–120+-flowered, rounded, 3–11 cm diam.; peduncles glabrous or sparsely hairy. Pedicels glabrous or sparsely hairy; fruiting pedicels essentially glabrous. Flowers 9–10 mm diam.; hypanthium glabrous, hypanthium plus sepals 3 mm; sepals 0.7–1.5 mm, margins ciliolate, hairs whitish, irregularly glandular; petals white, broadly ovate, 3–4 mm; stamens 20; carpels distinct, apex conic, styles 3 or 4, 1.5–2 mm. Infructescences glabrous or nearly so. Pomes bright red, globose to subglobose, 6–9 mm diam., shiny if glaucous layer rubbed off; sepals inconspicuous, incurved. Seeds redbrown, lanceolate, 4 × 2 mm, slightly asymmetric, slightly flattened.


Phenology: Flowering spring; fruiting fall.
Habitat: Mountain slopes, meadows, stream banks, lakeshores, sun or shade
Elevation: 1500–3400 m

Discussion

Sorbus californica is recognized here in the narrow sense, occurring north to Crater Lake National Park, Oregon (P. F. Zika 2003). The concept in H. A. McAllister (2005) differs, including plants of British Columbia and Washington treated here as S. scopulina. Sorbus californica is distinct in its shiny leaflets less than 4 cm with rufous hairs in the axils. Where their ranges overlap, S. scopulina has hairier inflorescences, leaflets usually more than 4.5 cm, and whitish axillary hairs. The small leaflets and essentially glabrous inflorescences help distinguish S. californica from putative hybrids between S. scopulina and S. sitchensis found farther north, which are otherwise similar with their somewhat shiny leaflets, slightly glaucous fruits, and red axillary hairs. Some collections of S. californica from California are intermediate with either S. sitchensis or S. scopulina and may represent hybrids with those two species.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"thin" is not a number."/2" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property."dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Sorbus californica"
conic;obtuse;acute +
Peter F. Zika +  and Stéphane M. Bailleul +
Greene +
compound +  and simple +
opposite +  and alternate +
not +  and clawed +
green +  and pale +
ovate +  and oblong +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (33 cm330 mm <br />0.33 m <br />) +
membranous +  and slightly leathery +
glutinous +
red +  and brown +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
odd +  and simple +
divided +  and lobed +
tanniferous +
California mountain ashE +
Calif. +, Nev. +  and Oreg. +
not +  and aggregated +
1500–3400 m +
single-layered +
0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
rancid +, unpleasant +  and strong +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
not +  and aggregated +
not +  and aggregated +
yellow +, brown +, red +  and orange +
glabrous +, hairy +  and glaucous +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (1.9 cm19 mm <br />0.019 m <br />) +
Mountain slopes, meadows, stream banks, lakeshores, sun or shade +
whitish +  and rufous +
green +  and red +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
nearly +  and glabrous +
crassinucellate +
deciduous +
subopposite +  and opposite +
0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
papillose +
oblong to elliptic +
ciliolate +  and rufous-hairy +
toothed +, unlobed +  and lobed +
inferior +  and superior +
biseriate +  and clustered +
collateral +  and basal +
3 +  and 2 +
25-120+-flowered +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (11 cm110 mm <br />0.11 m <br />) +
hairy +, glaucous +  and glabrous +
glabrous +  and hairy +
hairy +  and glabrous +
0 (?) +  and 4 (?) +
free +  and distinct +
2 +  and 5 +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
Flowering spring +  and fruiting fall. +
adnate +, free +, connate +  and distinct +
bright red +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
globose +  and subglobose +
not arillate +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (?) +
flattened;lanceolate +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (?) +
persistent +
free +  and distinct +
inconspicuous +
triangular +  and ovate +
0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
free +  and distinct +
branched +  and simple +
ascending +  and erect +
1 +  and 8 +
short-adnate +  and free +
ovate;lanceolate or flabellate +
persistent +
distinct +
basal +, lateral +, subterminal +  and terminal +
elongate +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
Sorbus sitchensis subsp. californica +
Sorbus californica +
Sorbus sect. Commixtae +
species +
inconspicuous +
hairy +  and glabrous +