Rowan

For other uses, see Rowan (disambiguation).“Quicken Tree” redirects here. For the racehorse, seeQuicken Tree (horse).

The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or treesin genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are nativethroughout the cool temperate regions of the NorthernHemisphere, with the highest species diversity in themountains of western China and the Himalaya, wherenumerous apomictic microspecies occur.[1] The namerowan was originally applied to the species Sorbus au-cuparia, and is also used for other species in Sorbussubgenus Sorbus.[2] Rowans are unrelated to the trueash trees, which belong to the genus Fraxinus, familyOleaceae, though their leaves bear superficial similarity.Formerly, when a wider variety of fruits were commonlyeaten in European and North American culture, Sorbuscounted among the home fruits, though ironically Sorbusdomestica is all but extinct in Britain.[3] Natural hybrids,often including Sorbus aucuparia and the whitebeam,Sorbus aria, give rise to many endemic variants in theUK.[4]

1 Names

The traditional names of the rowan are those appliedto the species Sorbus aucuparia, Sorbus torminalis (wildservice-tree), and Sorbus domestica (true service-tree).The Latin name sorbus was loaned into Old English assyrfe. The name “service-tree” for Sorbus domestica isderived from that name by folk etymology. The Latinname sorbus is from a root for “red, reddish-brown” (PIE*sor-/*ser-); English sorb is attested from the 1520s inthe sense “fruit of the service tree”, adopted via Frenchsorbe from Latin sorbum “service-berry”. Sorbus domes-tica is also known as “Whitty Pear”, the adjective whittymeaning "pinnate". The name “mountain-ash” for Sorbusdomestica is due to a superficial similarity of the rowanleaves to those of the ash; not to be confused in Fraxinusornus, a true ash that is also known as “mountain ash”.[5]Sorbus torminalis is also known as “chequer tree"; itsfruits, formerly used to flavour beer, being called “che-quers”, perhaps from the spotted pattern of the fruit.The name rowan is recorded from 1804, detached froman earlier rowan-tree, rountree, attested from the 1540sin northern English and Scottish. It is from a North Ger-manic source (such as Middle Norwegian), derived from

Old Norse reynir (c.f. Norwegian rogn, Swedish rönn),ultimately from the Germanic verb *raud-inan “to red-den”, in reference to the berries (as is the Latin namesorbus). Various dialectal variants of rowan are found inEnglish, including ran, roan, rodan, royan, royne, round,rune.The Old English name of the rowan is cwic-beám, whichsurvives in the name quickbeam (also quicken, quicken-tree, and variants). This name by the 19th-century wasreinterpreted as connected to the word witch, from a di-alectal variant wick for quick and names such as wicken-tree, wich-tree, wicky, wiggan-tree, giving rise to namessuch as witch-hazel[6] and witch-tree.[7]

The Old Irish name is cairtheand, reflected in ModernIrish caorann. The “arboreal” Bríatharogam in the Bookof Ballymote associates the rowan with the letter luis, withthe gloss “delightful to the eye (li sula) is luis, i.e. rowan(caertheand), owing to the beauty of its berries”. Due tothis, “delight of the eye” (vel sim.) has been reported asa “name of the rowan” by some commentators.In the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland andLabrador and Nova Scotia, this species is commonly re-ferred to as a “dogberry” tree.[8] In German, Sorbus aucu-paria is known as the Vogelbeerbaum (“bird-berry-tree”)or as Eberesche. The latter is a compound of the nameof the ash tree (Esche) with what is contemporarily thename of the boar (Eber) but in fact the continuation of aGaulish name, eburo- (also the name for a dark reddish-brown colour, cognate with Greek orphnos, Old Norseiarpr “brown”); like sorbus, eburo- seems to have referredto the colour of the berries; it is also recorded as a Gaul-ish name for the yew (which also has red berries), see alsoEburodunum (disambiguation). The Welsh name Criafolrefers to the tree as “lamenting fruit”, associating the redfruit with the blood of Christ; as Welsh tradition believedthe Cross was carved from the wood of this tree.

2 Botany

Rowans are mostly small deciduous trees 10–20 m tall,though a few are shrubs. The leaves are arranged alter-nately, and are pinnate, with (7–)11–35 leaflets; a termi-nal leaflet is always present. The flowers are borne indense corymbs; each flower is creamy white, and 5–10mm across with five petals. The fruit is a small pome 4–8mm diameter, bright orange or red in most species, butpink, yellow or white in some Asian species. The fruit

1

2 3 SELECTED SPECIES

White-fruited Rowan Sorbus glabrescens, a Chinese species withwhite fruit

are soft and juicy, which makes them a very good foodfor birds, particularly waxwings and thrushes, which thendistribute the rowan seeds in their droppings.[1] Due totheir small size the fruits are often referred to as berries,but a berry is a simple fruit produced from a single ovary,whereas a pome is an accessory fruit.Rowan is used as a food plant by the larvae of someLepidoptera species; see Lepidoptera that feed on Sorbus.

Mature European Rowan tree

The best-known species is the European Rowan Sorbusaucuparia, a small tree typically 4–12 m tall growing ina variety of habitats throughout northern Europe and inmountains in southern Europe and southwest Asia. Itsberries are a favourite food for many birds and are a tra-ditional wild-collected food in Britain and Scandinavia.It is one of the hardiest European trees, occurring to 71°north in Vardø in Arctic Norway, and has also becomewidely naturalised in northern North America.The greatest diversity of form as well as the largest num-ber of Rowan species is in Asia, with very distinctivespecies such as Sargent’s Rowan Sorbus sargentiana withlarge leaves 20–35 cm long and 15–20 cm broad and verylarge corymbs with 200–500 flowers, and at the other ex-treme, Small-leaf Rowan Sorbus microphylla with leaves

Rowan flowers

8–12 cm long and 2.5–3 cm broad. While most are trees,the Dwarf Rowan Sorbus reducta is a low shrub to 50 cmtall. Several of the Asian species are widely cultivated asornamental trees.North American native species in the subgenus Sor-bus (Sorbus) include the American mountain-ash Sorbusamericana and Showy mountain-ash Sorbus decora in theeast and Sitka mountain-ash Sorbus sitchensis in the west.Numerous hybrids, mostly behaving as true speciesreproducing by apomixis, occur between rowans andwhitebeams; these are variably intermediate betweentheir parents but generally more resemble whitebeamsand are usually grouped with them (q.v.).

3 Selected species

• Sorbus alnifolia, Korean whitebeam

• Sorbus amabilis

• Sorbus americana, American mountain-ash

• Sorbus aucuparia, European rowan

• Sorbus californica

• Sorbus cashmiriana, Kashmir rowan

• Sorbus commixta, Japanese rowan

• Sorbus decora, Showy mountain-ash

• Sorbus esserteauiana, Esserteau’s rowan

• Sorbus fosteri

• Sorbus fruticosa

• Sorbus glabrescens, White-fruited rowan

• Sorbus harrowiana, Harrow rowan

• Sorbus hupehensis, Hubei rowan

3

• Sorbus insignis

• Sorbus khumbuensis

• Sorbus koehneana

• Sorbus lanata

• Sorbus matsumurana

• Sorbus maderensis, Madeira rowan

• Sorbus microphylla, Small-leaf rowan

• Sorbus oligodonta, Kite-leaf rowan

• Sorbus pallescens

• Sorbus pekinensis

• Sorbus pinnatifida

• Sorbus pluripinnata

• Sorbus pohuashanensis

• Sorbus pontica

• Sorbus poteriifolia

• Sorbus prattii

• Sorbus pseudovilmorinii

• Sorbus pygmaea

• Sorbus randaiensis

• Sorbus redliana

• Sorbus reducta, Dwarf rowan

• Sorbus rehderiana

• Sorbus retroflexis

• Sorbus rockii

• Sorbus rotundifolia

• Sorbus rufo-ferruginea

• Sorbus rufopilosa, Tsema rowan

• Sorbus sargentiana, Sargent’s rowan

• Sorbus scalaris, Ladder rowan

• Sorbus scopulina, Greene mountain-ash (var. scop-ulina) or Cascade mountain-ash (var. cascadensis)

• Sorbus simonkaiana

• Sorbus sitchensis, Sitka mountain-ash

• Sorbus stankovii

• Sorbus taurica

• Sorbus ursina

• Sorbus vertesensis

• Sorbus vestita

• Sorbus vilmorinii, Vilmorin’s rowan• Sorbus wardii

• Sorbus wilfordii

4 Uses

Rowans are excellent small ornamental trees for parks,gardens and wildlife areas. Several of the Chinesespecies, such asWhite-fruited rowan (Sorbus glabrescens)are popular for their unusual fruit colour, and Sargent’srowan (Sorbus sargentiana) for its exceptionally largeclusters of fruit. Numerous cultivars have also been se-lected for garden use, several of them, such as the yellow-fruited Sorbus 'Joseph Rock', of hybrid origin.[1] They arevery attractive to fruit-eating birds, which is reflected inthe old name “bird catcher”.The wood is dense and used for carving and turning andfor tool handles and walking sticks.[9] Rowan fruit area traditional source of tannins for mordanting vegetabledyes.[10] In Finland, it has been a traditional wood ofchoice for horse sled shafts and rake spikes.The fruit of European Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) can bemade into a slightly bitter jelly which in Britain is tra-ditionally eaten as an accompaniment to game, and intojams and other preserves, on their own, or with otherfruit. The fruit can also be a substitute for coffee beans,and have many uses in alcoholic beverages: to flavourliqueurs and cordials, to produce country wine, and toflavour ale. In Austria a clear rowan schnapps is distilledwhich is called by its German name Vogelbeerschnaps.Czechs also make a Rowan liquor called jeřabinka[11] andthe Welsh used to make one called diodgriafel.[12]

Rowan cultivars with superior fruit for human food useare available but not common; mostly the fruits are gath-ered from wild trees growing on public lands.Rowan fruit contains sorbic acid, an acid that takes itsname from the Latin name of the genus Sorbus. Theraw fruit also contain parasorbic acid (about 0.4%−0.7%in the European rowan[13]), which causes indigestion andcan lead to kidney damage, but heat treatment (cooking,heat-drying etc.) and, to a lesser extent, freezing, neu-tralises it, by changing it to the benign sorbic acid. Luck-ily, they are also usually too astringent to be palatablewhen raw. Collecting them after first frost (or puttingin the freezer) cuts down on the bitter taste as well.

5 Mythology and folklore

The European rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) has a long tradi-tion in European mythology and folklore. It was thought

4 7 REFERENCES

to be a magical tree and give protection against malevo-lent beings.[14] The tree was also called “wayfarer’s tree”or “traveller’s tree” because it supposedly prevents thoseon a journey from getting lost.[15] It was said in Eng-land that this was the tree on which the Devil hanged hismother. [16]

British folklorists of the Victorian era reported the folkbelief in apotropaic powers of the rowan-tree, in partic-ular in the warding off of witches. Such a report is givenby Edwin Lees (1856) for the Wyre Forest in the EnglishWestMidlands.[17] Sir James Frazer (1890) reported sucha tradition in Scotland, where the tree was often plantednear a gate or front door.[18] According to Frazer, birds’droppings often contain rowan seeds, and if such drop-pings land in a fork or hole where old leaves have ac-cumulated on a larger tree, such as an oak or a maple,they may result in a rowan growing as an epiphyte on thelarger tree. Such a rowan is called a “flying rowan” andwas thought of as especially potent against witches andtheir magic, and as a counter-charm against sorcery.[19]In 1891, Charles Godfrey Leland also reported traditionsof rowan’s apotropaic powers against witches in Englishfolklore, citing the Denham Tracts (collected between1846 and 1859).[20]

In Norse mythology, the goddess Sif is the wife of thethunder god Thor. Sif has been linked with Ravdna, theconsort of the Sami thunder-god Horagalles. Red berriesof rowan were holy to Ravdna, and the name Ravdna re-sembles North Germanic words for the tree (for exam-ple, Old Norse reynir). According to Skáldskaparmál therowan is called “the salvation of Thor” because Thor oncesaved himself by clinging to it. It has been theorized thatSif was once conceived in the form of a rowan to whichThor clung.[21]

In Newfoundland, popular folklore maintains that a heavycrop of fruit means a hard or difficult winter. Similarly,in Finland and Sweden, the number of fruit on the treeswas used as a predictor of the snow cover during winter,but here the belief was that the rowan “will not bear aheavy load of fruit and a heavy load of snow in the sameyear”, that is, a heavy fruit crop predicted a winter withlittle snow. However, as fruit production for a given sum-mer is related to weather conditions the previous summer,with warm, dry summers increasing the amount of storedsugars available for subsequent flower and fruit produc-tion, it has no predictive relationship to the weather ofthe next winter.[22][23] Contrary to the above, in Maalahti,Finland the opposite was thought.[24] If the rowan flowerswere plentiful then the rye harvest would also be plenti-ful. Similarly, if the rowan flowered twice in a year therewould be many potatoes andmany weddings that autumn.And in Sipoo people are noted as having said that winterhad begun when the waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) hadeaten the last of the rowan fruit.[25] In Sweden, it was alsothought that if the rowan trees grew pale and lost color,the fall and winter would bring much illness.[26]

6 See also

Sorbus subgenus AriaSorbus subgenus MicromelesSorbus subgenus CormusSorbus subgenus TorminariaSorbus subgenus Chamaemespilus

7 References[1] Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe.

Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.

[2] McAllister, H.A. 2005. The genus Sorbus: Mountain Ashand other Rowans . Kew Publishing.

[3] “The Whitty Pear, Sorbus domestica"

[4] Cambridge Botanic Garden: the Genus Sorbus

[5] “The similarities in the physical characteristics of all threetypes of tree [viz., Fraxinus excelsior, Fraxinus ornus andSorbus aucuparia] are pervasive enough that they are con-fused not only in folk terminology but also in botanicalnomenclature”. Richard Stoll Shannon (1975). The Armsof Achilles and Homeric Compositional TechniqueVolume36 of Mnemosyne, (Brill), p. 41. The English herbalistJohnGerard in 1590 apparently fell victim to just this con-fusion, equating ornus and quickbeam (see below).

[6] “Witch-hazel” is much more commonly associated withHamameles.

[7] Abram Smythe Palmer, Folk-etymology : a Dictionary ofVerbal Corruptions Or Words Perverted in Form Or Mean-ing, by False Derivation Or Mistaken Analogy (1882),443f.

[8] Story, G. M. and Kirwin, W. J. (1990). Dictionaryof Newfoundland English. University of Toronto Press.ISBN 0-8020-6819-7.

[9] Vedel, H., & Lange, J. (1960). Trees and Bushes in Woodand Hedgerow. Metheun & Co. Ltd., London.

[10] Henderson, Robert K. (2000). The Neighbourhood For-ager: A Guide For The Wild Food Gourmet. Toronto: KeyPorter Books. p. 68. ISBN 1-55263-306-3.

[11] Sorbier des oiseleurs

[12] Wild Food School

[13] O Raspe, C Findlay, AL Jacquemart. Sorbus aucuparia L.The Journal of Ecology, 2000

[14] Trees for Life: Mythology and Folklore of the Rowan

[15] Eyers, Jonathan (2011). Don't Shoot the Albatross!: Nau-tical Myths and Superstitions. A&C Black, London, UK.ISBN 978-1-4081-3131-2.

[16] Westwood, Jennifer (1985),Albion. AGuide to LegendaryBritain. London: Grafton Books. ISBN 0-246-11789-3.p. 257.

5

[17] Edwin Lees, Pictures of nature in the silurian regionaround the Malvern hills and vale of Severn, H.W. Lamb,1856, 274f.

[18] Sir James Frazer, The Golden Bough, p620, PapermacEdition, 1987, ISBN 0-333-43430-7

[19] Sir James Frazer, The Golden Bough, p702, PapermacEdition, 1987, ISBN 0-333-43430-7

[20] “The anti-witch rhyme used in Tweedesdale some sixty orseventy years ago [viz. in the 1820s] was: “Black-luggie,lammer bead, rowan-tree and reed thread, put the witchesto their speed. [...] I have seen a twig of rowan-tree[...] which had been gathered on the second of May (ob-serve this), wound round with some dozens of yards of redthread, placed visible in the window to act as a charm inkeeping witches and Boggle boes from the house.” CharlesGodfrey Leland,Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling, 1891,p. 198

[21] Turville-Petre, E. O. G. (1964). Myth and Religion ofthe North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia, p. 98.Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

[22] Kobro, S., Søreide, L., Djønne, E., Rafoss, T., Jaastad,G., & Witzgall, P. (2003). Masting of rowan Sorbus au-cuparia L. Population Ecology 45 (1): 25-30.

[23] Raspe, O., Findlay, C., & Jacquemart, A. (2000). Sorbusaucuparia. Journal of Ecology 88 (5): 910-930.

[24] Tillhagen, Carl-Herman. (1995). Skogarna och träden:Naturvård i gångna tider. Carlssons bokförlag, Stock-holm.

[25] Mannhardt, Wilhelm. (1963). Wald- und Feldkulte.Bd. I. Der Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer Nach-barstämmes. p. 52. Wissenschaftliche BuchgesellschaftVerlag

[26] Tillhagen, Carl-Herman. (1995). Skogarna och träden:Naturvård i gånga tider. Carlssons bokförlag, Stockholm

8 External links• Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) in “The Complete PaganHerbal” by Anna Franklin (merciangathering.com)

6 9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1 Text• Rowan Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan?oldid=633078947 Contributors: Hajhouse, Rmhermen, Gabbe, Angela, Julesd, SalsaShark, IMSoP, Cimon Avaro, Jonik, Ehn, Dcoetzee, Dysprosia, Peregrine981, Marshman, Imc, Morwen, SEWilco, Bevo, Khym Chanur,Wetman, Francs2000, Donarreiskoffer, Vidyadhara, WormRunner, Nurg, GerardM, Anthony, BigSmoke, MPF, Gtrmp, Mintleaf, Wiglaf,Brequinda, Gdr, Quadell, JoJan, Karl-Henner, Chmod007, DanielCD, Dbachmann, Corvun, Foolip, CanisRufus, Shanes, Kgaughan, Left-mostcat, Peter Greenwell, Circeus, Sam Korn, Alansohn, Etxrge, Anthony Appleyard, Velella, DrGaellon, Ghirlandajo, Stemonitis, Angr,Woohookitty, Richard Barlow, PoccilScript, Maryna Ravioli, Amikeco, TheAlphaWolf, Rangeley, Iitk, Eirikr, Pationl, Ketiltrout, Panterka,Nandesuka, Eubot, Tagesk, Gdrbot, Bgwhite, The Rambling Man, Ecemaml, RussBot, Stephenb, CambridgeBayWeather, Curtis Clark,Complainer, Bloodofox, Rmky87, Silverchemist, Jkelly, Mike Selinker, Orcaborealis, Mais oui!, JDspeeder1, Bibliomaniac15, SmackBot,Dappelquist, RlyehRising, Bluebot, Rkitko, Dr bab, Gruzd, Nap, Bruce Marlin, Addshore, Abrahami, 4hodmt, ThurnerRupert, David-Cooke, Kevmin, Headzred, Kevin W., JForget, Lavateraguy, Orderinchaos, Baskaufs, Fordmadoxfraud, Icek, Themightyquill, Cydebot,Gogo Dodo, Jguard18, Olegivvit, Rosser1954, Pepperbeast, Oliver202, Poe Joe, Visik, Mentifisto, AntiVandalBot, Ririana, Luna Santin,Brendandh, Storkk, ShadowKinght, Plantsurfer, Arch dude, Krasanen, Magioladitis, Pedro, Murgh, Berig, DancingPenguin, Liverpool-Commander, Archolman, R'n'B, Grblundell, J.delanoy, Iaberis, Herbythyme, Seithiennyn, (jarbarf), Bumper12, Richard D. LeCour, Nadi-atalent, Bonadea, Xenonice, TeamZissou, Alabasterarchangel, Strichek, Steven J. Anderson, Cantiorix, Softlavender, Tony221268, Nagy,Bennet34, Diyforlife, Flippityflop, NastalgicCam, ClueBot, Snigbrook, Eeno11, The Thing That Should Not Be, Muscari, Dylan620, GreyMatter, Smundy, WikHead, Gifford Watkins, Landon1980, Proxima Centauri, Grubel, MauriceM3, Glane23, Issyl0, ZX81, Yobot, 2D,AnomieBOT, Cottonapple4, Ferox Seneca, Hamamelis, Dger, Micromesistius, Calmer Waters, Fearfackta, Train-Uchiha, Uniwizard83,Sinazita, Kingsburyr, SporkBot, Zen Cyfarwydd, Rcsprinter123, GermanJoe, Sven Manguard, Manytexts, ClueBot NG, TheBlair2, Dav-eWIKI, Jeff1776, Crazymonkey1123, MerlIwBot, HMSSolent, Curb Chain, Plantdrew, BG19bot, Frze, Joydeep, FiverFan65, MysteriousWhisper, Mogism, Lugia2453, Krakkos, DeviantSerpent, Alyshkalia, Eugen Hamerle, Tortie tude and Anonymous: 158

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