Habitat
American Mountain Ash is native to the
Northern Hemisphere, and can especially be found in Northeastern
North America. (Index of Species Information, 1992.)
It is generally found at higher elevations. It
is winter hardy, so the bright orange berries add to the white,
snowy landscape during winter. It is frequently found in moist
habitats, near swamps or on rocky hillsides. Often, it
isn't very abundant in old growth spruce-fir communities.
(American Mountain
Ash, 2006.) American Mountain Ash is found in
dryer soils, however, its growth is stunted. It is also
commonly found
in openings or scattered alongside the edges of the woods or
roads. The American Mountain Ash is very dependent on full
sunlight and is not able to tolerate shade as well. Therefore,
it isn’t commonly found in the middle of the woods amongst other
trees. It generally grows best at a soil pH of 4.7 to 6.0.
(American Mountain Ash, 2006.)
Recently, American Mountain Ash has been used quite frequently
in the cities for landscaping because of the resistance it has
to smog related pollution. (Nature Hills Nursery, 2012.)
If planted close enough together, this species can hybridize
with black chokeberry or with the purple chokeberry.
(Index of Species Information, 1992.)