American mountain ash trees here are now bursting with berries, harbingers of an early fall. This native tree (Sorbus American) is sometimes called a rowan tree due to early colonizers confusing it with a similar European tree in the Sorbus family (Sorbus aucuparia). Thus, it’s best called it an American rowan, if that term is used.
It’s also called by some, especially our Canadian neighbors, a dogberry tree. There are two vastly different reported theories as to why they’re called that: either because the tree’s berries “are not fit for a dog” or because the name is a corruption of “dag,” meaning dagger. The tree’s hard wood was used to make daggers, as well as mystical charms and divining rods.
In Wales, the tree reportedly is called "criafol" ("the lamenting fruit tree"), apparently due to an ancient belief that its wood was used to form the cross of Christ. In fact, the trees have been associated with numerous myths in Europe and among our early colonizers, many of whom planted them near their homes to ward of witches and other evil spirits.
Despite their reputation, the tree’s berries are eaten by always-needy wildlife and have been consumed by humans for many years in the form of jams, jellies, and fermented alcoholic beverages such as mead and cordials. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on August 27, 2025.)