This year the Mountain Ash Trees on Blue Ridge Parkway are amazing!
American Mountain Ash tree - it is a deciduous perennial tree seen often in eastern North America and the Appalachian Mountains. It is not a big tree - height 40 feet (12 meters).
It is one of the most recognizable trees with its white spring flowers and orange/red fruits in fall and winter. Ripen in October and remains on the tree all winter.
Mountain Ash tree fruits can be eaten raw or cooked.
They are "rich in iron and vitamin C. The fruit is used mainly in making pies, preserves etc, but it can also be eaten raw after a frost because it turns sweeter then. The fruit has a high tannin content and so should along be used in moderation if eaten raw. It can also be dried and ground into meal. The fruit is produced in dense clusters and is up to 8mm in diameter."*
* Virtual Blue Ridge