Rowan Several of the Asian species are widely cultivated as ornamental trees. North American native species in the subgenus "Sorbus (Sorbus)" include the American mountain-ash "Sorbus americana" and Showy mountain-ash "Sorbus decora" in the east and Sitka mountain-ash "Sorbus sitchensis" in the west. Numerous hybrids, mostly behaving as true species reproducing by apomixis, occur between rowans and whitebeams; these are variably intermediate between their parents but generally more resemble whitebeams and are usually grouped with them (q.v.). Rowans are excellent small ornamental trees for parks, gardens and wildlife areas. Several of the Chinese species, such as White-fruited rowan ("Sorbus glabrescens") are
North Fork Mountain pine barren in the Central Appalachians. Other rocky summits, including the summit of Pike Knob, are blanketed by red pine ("Pinus resinosa") forests, here at their southernmost natural occurrences. The Monongahela National Forest has designated of old growth red pine forest on the mountain as the North Fork Mountain Red Pine Botanical Area. Another unusual vegetation type on North Fork Mountain is an elfin forest dominated by yellow birch ("Betula alleghaniensis"), mountain ash ("Sorbus americana"), and mountain holly. The oak-and-pine vegetation of North Fork Mountain contrasts strongly with the more diverse vegetation of the nearby mountains just west of the