Aria alnifolia

The natural habitat of the Korean mountain ash is typically among the volcanic lava of East Asia, indeed the Finnish common name is ”lava mountain ash”. It is one of the group of Sorbus species which have entire leaves and includes the whitebeams. Indeed, the shape and structure of the leaves resemble the beech (Fagus sylvatica) rather than what we usually expect in a mountain ash. The leaves open a fresh green in a characteristic zig-zag attitude and form attractive patterns along the branches.