The
rowans or
mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus
SorbusSorbus is a genus of about 100–200 species of trees and shrubs in the subfamily Maloideae of the Rose family Rosaceae. Species of Sorbus are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan, service tree, and mountain ash...
of family
RosaceaeRosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...
. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the
Northern HemisphereThe Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and the Himalaya, where numerous
apomicticIn botany, apomixis was defined by Winkler as replacement of the normal sexual reproduction by asexual reproduction, without fertilization. This definition notably does not mention meiosis...
microspecies occur. The name
rowan was originally applied to the species
Sorbus aucupariaSorbus aucuparia , is a species of the genus Sorbus, native to most of Europe except for the far south, and northern Asia...
, and is also used for other species in
Sorbus subgenus
Sorbus. Rowans are unrelated to the true ash trees which belong to the
genusIn biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Fraxinus, family
OleaceaeOleaceae are a family containing 24 extant genera and around 600 species of mesophytic shrubs, trees and occasionally vines. As shrubs, members of this family may be twine climbers, or scramblers.-Leaves:...
, though their leaves bear superficial similarity.
Etymology and other names
The name "rowan" is derived from the Old Norse name for the tree,
raun. Linguists believe that the Norse name is ultimately derived from a proto-Germanic word *
raudnian meaning "getting red" and which referred to the red foliage and red berries in the autumn. Rowan is one of the familiar wild trees in the
British IslesThe British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, and has acquired numerous English folk names. The following are recorded folk names for the rowan: Delight of the eye (Luisliu), Mountain ash, Quickbane, Quickbeam, Quicken (tree), Quickenbeam, Ran tree, Roan tree, Roden-quicken, Roden-quicken-royan, Round wood, Round tree, Royne tree, Rune tree, Sorb apple, Thor's helper, Whispering tree, Whitty, Wicken-tree, Wiggin, Wiggy, Wiky, Witch wood, Witchbane, Witchen, Witchen Wittern tree. Many of these can be easily linked to the mythology and folklore surrounding the tree. In Gaelic, it is
caorann, or
rudha-an ("red one", pronounced similarly to English "rowan").
In the
CanadianCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
provinces of
Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
and
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
this species is commonly referred to as a "Dogberry" tree.
Botany
Rowans are mostly small
deciduousDeciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s 10–20 m tall, though a few are
shrubA shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s. The
leavesA leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are arranged alternately, and are
pinnatePinnate is a term used to describe feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis in plant or animal structures, and comes from the Latin word pinna meaning "feather", "wing", or "fin". A similar term is pectinate, which refers to a comb-like arrangement of parts...
, with (7-)11-35 leaflets; a terminal leaflet is always present. The
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are borne in dense corymbs; each flower is creamy white, and 5–10 mm across with five petals. The
fruitIn broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a small
pomeIn botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subfamily Maloideae of the family Rosaceae.A pome is an accessory fruit composed of one or more carpels surrounded by accessory tissue...
4–8 mm diameter, bright orange or red in most species, but pink, yellow or white in some Asian species. The fruit are soft and juicy, which makes them a very good food for
birdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, particularly
waxwingThe waxwings form the genus Bombycilla of passerine birds. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the family Bombycillidae.-Description:Waxwings are characterised by soft silky plumage...
s and
thrushesThe thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...
, which then distribute the rowan
seedA seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s in their droppings. Due to their small size the fruits are often referred to as berries, but a
berryThe botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
is a simple fruit produced from a single ovary, whereas a
pomeIn botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subfamily Maloideae of the family Rosaceae.A pome is an accessory fruit composed of one or more carpels surrounded by accessory tissue...
is an
accessory fruitAn accessory fruit is a fruit in which some of the flesh is derived not from the ovary but from some adjacent tissue exterior to the carpel. Examples of accessory tissue are the receptacle of strawberries, figs, or mulberries, and the calyx of Gaultheria procumbens or Syzygium jambos...
.
Rowan is used as a food plant by the
larvaA larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some
LepidopteraLepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species; see Lepidoptera that feed on
Sorbus.
The best-known species is the European Rowan
Sorbus aucuparia, a small tree typically 4–12 m tall growing in a variety of habitats throughout northern
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and in
mountainImage:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s in southern Europe and southwest
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Its berries are a favourite food for many birds and are a traditional wild-collected food in Britain and
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. It is one of the hardiest
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an trees, occurring to 71° north in
Vardøis a town and a municipality in Finnmark county in the extreme northeast part of Norway.Vardø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . The law required that all cities should be separated from their rural districts, but because of a low population and very few voters, this was...
in Arctic
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, and has also become widely
naturalisedIn biology, naturalisation is any process by which a non-native organism spreads into the wild and its reproduction is sufficient to maintain its population. Such populations are said to be naturalised....
in northern
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
The greatest diversity of form as well as the largest number of Rowan species is in
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, with very distinctive species such as Sargent's Rowan
Sorbus sargentiana with large leaves 20–35 cm long and 15–20 cm broad and very large corymbs with 200-500 flowers, and at the other extreme, Small-leaf Rowan
Sorbus microphylla with leaves 8–12 cm long and 2.5–3 cm broad. While most are trees, the Dwarf Rowan
Sorbus reducta is a low
shrubA shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
to 50 cm tall. Several of the Asian species are widely cultivated as ornamental trees.
North American native species in this subgenus 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
apomixisIn botany, apomixis was defined by Winkler as replacement of the normal sexual reproduction by asexual reproduction, without fertilization. This definition notably does not mention meiosis...
, 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.).
Selected species
- Sorbus aucuparia
Sorbus aucuparia , is a species of the genus Sorbus, native to most of Europe except for the far south, and northern Asia...
, European rowan
- Sorbus americana
The tree species Sorbus americana is commonly known as the American Mountain-ash. It is a relatively small deciduous perennial tree, native to eastern northern North America....
, American mountain-ash
- Sorbus californica
Sorbus californica is an aggregate species of Rowans native to western North America and sometimes cultivated. It has orange-red fruit and leaflets that are toothed almost from base to apex, but is said to be most often confounded with the western North American species S. occidentalis which has...
- Sorbus cashmiriana
Sorbus cashmiriana , is a species of rowan native to the western Himalaya, including in Kashmir.It is a small, usually short-lived deciduous tree growing to 6–8 m tall, with a trunk up to 25 cm diameter. The bark is smooth grey or red-grey...
, Kashmir rowan
- Sorbus commixta
Sorbus commixta is a species of rowan native to Japan, the far east of Russia on Sakhalin, and in Korea on the island of Ulleungdo....
, Japanese rowan
- Sorbus decora
Sorbus decora, commonly known as the showy mountain-ash or "dogberry" is a deciduous shrub or very small tree native to northeastern North America. It occurs throughout the Great Lakes-St...
, Showy mountain-ash
- Sorbus esserteauiana
Sorbus esserteauana, commonly known as Esserteau's Rowan, is a species of Rowan. It is a shrub with small white flowers and small red berries that are actually a pome fruit. Unlike all other species of Sorbus, the fruit are hard and inedible to humans, but they are eaten by birds that scatter the...
, Esserteau's rowan
- Sorbus fosteri
Sorbus fosteri is a rowan shrub. The plant is used as an ornamental plant for its large clusters of small pink berry-like pome fruits. The shrub has cream-colored flowers with gray-green leaves.-External links:*...
- Sorbus fruticosa
Sorbus fruticosa is a species of Rowan. It has been cultivated and grown in gardens as an ornamental plant. It grows large clusters of white berries, which are actually small pome fruits. The small shrub produces fruit every summer and attracts many birds.-External links:* ...
- Sorbus glabrescens
Sorbus glabrescens is a species of rowan native to Yunnan in China.It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 8–15 m tall with a rounded crown and dark grey bark and stout shoots...
, White-fruited rowan
- Sorbus harrowiana
Sorbus harrowiana is a flowering plant shrub. It is a Rowan species. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in parks and gardens....
, Harrow rowan
- Sorbus hupehensis
Sorbus hupehensis is a species of rowan native to central and western China.It is a small deciduous tree growing to 5–10 m tall, with grey-brown to purplish-brown bark. The branches and shoots are slender...
, Hubei rowan
- Sorbus insignis
Sorbus insignis is a species of rowan shrub. It is native to China. The plant is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant in stone gardens, parks and yards....
- Sorbus khumbuensis
- Sorbus koehneana
- Sorbus lanata
- Sorbus matsumurana
- Sorbus maderensis
Sorbus maderensis, the Madeiran Mountain Ash, a rowan, is a species of plant in the Rosaceae family. It is endemic to Madeira. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:...
, Madeira rowan
- Sorbus microphylla, Small-leaf rowan
- Sorbus oligodonta
Sorbus oligodonta is a species of rowan native to northern Yunnan, southeastern Xizang, and western Sichuan in China....
, 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 randaiensis is a species of Rowan that is native to the high mountains of Taiwan and is sometimes cultivated.-External links:*...
- Sorbus redliana
- Sorbus reducta, Dwarf rowan
- Sorbus rehderiana
- Sorbus retroflexis
- Sorbus rockii
- Sorbus rotundifolia
- Sorbus rufo-ferruginea
- Sorbus rufopilosa, Tsema rowan
- Sorbus sargentiana
Sorbus sargentiana is a species of rowan native to southwestern Sichuan and northern Yunnan in China, where it grows at altitudes of 2,000–3,200 m....
, Sargent's rowan
- Sorbus scalaris
Sorbus scalaris is a species of Rowan that is native to China and is sometimes cultivated. It said to be the most attractive small tree among the orange-fruited Rowan species. Because it is self-incompatible and very few clones are cultivated, most seedlings raised from this species by gardeners...
, Ladder rowan
- Sorbus scopulina
Sorbus scopulina is a species of rowan that is native to western North America, primarily in the Rocky Mountains. The common name of this species is often given as 'Greene mountain-ash', and is so named in honor of American botanist Edward Lee Greene...
, Greene mountain-ash (var. scopulina) or Cascade mountain-ash (var. cascadensis)
- Sorbus simonkaiana
- Sorbus sitchensis
Sorbus sitchensis, also known as Sitka Mountain-ash, is a small shrub of the western United States.-Description:A multistemmed shrub, it is indigenous to the Pacific Coast of North America, from Alaska to northern California and eastward to Idaho and western Montana.The otherwise similar Sorbus...
, Sitka mountain-ash
- Sorbus stankovii
- Sorbus taurica
- Sorbus ursina
- Sorbus vertesensis
- Sorbus vestita
- Sorbus vilmorinii
Sorbus vilmorinii is a species of ornamental Rowan tree often grown for its exotic attractive berries. The flowers are white, and the fruit that follows is a light-pink berry which can last through winter. They are eaten by birds when there are no food suppy near. When fully grown it can be up to...
, Vilmorin's rowan
- Sorbus wardii
- Sorbus wilfordii
Uses
Rowans are excellent small ornamental trees for
parkA park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
s,
gardenA garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s and
wildlifeWildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
areas. Several of the Chinese species, such as White-fruited rowan (
Sorbus glabrescens) are popular for their unusual fruit colour, and Sargent's rowan (
Sorbus sargentiana) for its exceptionally large clusters of fruit. Numerous
cultivarA cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s have also been selected for garden use, several of them, such as the yellow-fruited
Sorbus 'Joseph Rock', of hybrid origin. They are very attractive to fruit-eating birds, which is reflected in the old name "bird catcher".
The
woodWood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
is dense and used for carving and turning and for tool handles and walking sticks. Rowan fruit are a traditional source of
tanninA tannin is an astringent, bitter plant polyphenolic compound that binds to and precipitates proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.The term tannin refers to the use of...
s for
mordantA mordant is a substance used to set dyes on fabrics or tissue sections by forming a coordination complex with the dye which then attaches to the fabric or tissue. It may be used for dyeing fabrics, or for intensifying stains in cell or tissue preparations. The term mordant comes from the Latin...
ing vegetable dyes.
Rowan fruit as food
The fruit of European Rowan (
Sorbus aucuparia) can be made into a slightly bitter
jellyFruit preserves are preparations of fruits and sugar, often canned or sealed for long-term storage. The preparation of fruit preserves today often involves adding commercial or natural pectin as a gelling agent, although sugar or honey may be used, as well. Prior to World War II, fruit preserve...
which in Britain is traditionally eaten as an accompaniment to
gameGame is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
, and into jams and other preserves, on their own, or with other fruit. The fruit can also be a substitute for
coffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
beans, and have many uses in
alcoholic beverageAn alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
s: to flavour
liqueurA liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
s and
cordialCordial may refer to:* Squash , a non-alcoholic fruit drink concentrate* Elderflower cordial, a non-alcoholic beverage* Cordial , a medicinal beverage* Cordial , a type of candy that has a fruit filling inside a chocolate shell...
s, to produce
country wineFruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of base ingredients ; they may also have additional flavours taken from fruits, flowers, and herbs. This definition is sometimes broadened to include any fermented alcoholic beverage except beer...
, and to flavour
aleAle is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...
. In Austria a clear rowan schnapps is distilled which is called by its German name Vogelbeer.
Rowan
cultivarA cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s with superior fruit for human food use are available but not common; mostly the fruits are gathered from wild trees growing on public lands.
Rowan fruit contains
sorbic acidSorbic acid, or 2,4-hexadienoic acid, is a natural organic compound used as a food preservative. It has the chemical formula C6H8O2. It is a colourless solid that is slightly soluble in water and sublimes readily...
, an acid that takes its name from the Latin name of the genus
Sorbus. The raw fruit also contain parasorbic acid (about 0.4%-0.7% in the European rowan), which causes indigestion and can lead to
kidneyThe kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
damage, but
heatIn physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
treatment (
cookingCooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
, heat-
dryingDrying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which inhibits the growth of microorganisms and hinders quality decay. Drying food using sun and wind to prevent spoilage has been practised since ancient times, and was the earliest form of food curing...
etc.) and, to a lesser extent, freezing, neutralises it, by changing it to the benign sorbic acid. Luckily, they are also usually too astringent to be palatable when raw. Collecting them after first frost (or putting in the freezer) cuts down on the bitter taste as well.
Mythology and folklore
The European rowan (
S. aucuparia) has a long tradition in European mythology and folklore. It was thought to be a magical tree and protection against malevolent beings. In Celtic mythology the rowan is called the Traveller's Tree because it prevents those on a journey from getting lost. It was said in England that this was the tree on which the Devil hanged his mother. In
Norse mythologyNorse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
the rowan was associated with the goddess
SifIn Norse mythology, Sif is a goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds...
.
The density of the rowan wood makes it very usable for walking sticks and
magician's stavesA wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, stone, ivory, or metal. Generally, in modern language, wands are ceremonial and/or have associations with magic but there have been other uses, all stemming from the original meaning as a synonym of rod and virge, both of which had a similar...
. This is why druid staffs, for example, have traditionally been made out of rowan wood, and its branches were often used in dowsing rods and
magic wandsA wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, stone, ivory, or metal. Generally, in modern language, wands are ceremonial and/or have associations with magic but there have been other uses, all stemming from the original meaning as a synonym of rod and virge, both of which had a similar...
. Rowan was carried on vessels to avoid storms, kept in houses to guard against lightning, and even planted on graves to keep the deceased from haunting. It was also used to protect one from witches. Often birds' droppings contain rowan seeds, and if such droppings land in a fork or hole where old leaves have accumulated on a larger tree, such as an
oakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
or a
mapleAcer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
, they may result in a rowan growing as an
epiphyteAn epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
on the larger tree. Such a rowan is called a "flying rowan" and was thought of as especially potent against witches and their
magicBlack magic is the type of magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers or is used with the intention to kill, steal, injure, cause misfortune or destruction, or for personal gain without regard to harmful consequences. As a term, "black magic" is normally used by those that do not approve of its...
, and as a counter-charm against sorcery. Rowan's alleged protection against enchantment made it perfect to be used in making
rune stavesA Runic calendar is a perpetual calendar based on the 19 year long Metonic cycle of the Moon. Runic calendars were written on parchment or carved onto staves of wood, bone, or horn. The oldest one known, and the only one from the Middle Ages, is the Nyköping staff, believed to date from the 13th...
(Murray, p. 26), for metal divining, and to protect cattle from harm by attaching sprigs to their sheds. Leaves and fruit were added to
divinationDivination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
incenseIncense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
for better
scryingScrying is a magic practice that involves seeing things psychically in a medium, usually for purposes of obtaining spiritual visions and less often for purposes of divination or fortune-telling. The most common media used are reflective, translucent, or luminescent substances such as crystals,...
.
In
NewfoundlandNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, popular folklore maintains that a heavy crop of fruit means a hard or difficult winter. Similarly, in Finland and Sweden, the number of fruit on the trees was used as a predictor of the
snowSnow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
cover during
winterWinter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
. This is now considered mere superstition (however one can hear old men talk of it), as fruit production for a given summer is related to weather conditions the previous
summerSummer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
, with warm, dry summers increasing the amount of stored sugars available for subsequent flower and fruit production; it has no predictive relationship to the weather of the next winter. Contrary to the above, in Maalahti, Finland the opposite was thought. If the rowan flowers were plentiful then the rye harvest would also be plentiful. Similarly, if the rowan flowered twice in a year there would be many potatoes and many weddings that autumn. And in
SipooSipoo is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Nikkilä/Nickby.It is the eastern neighbour of Helsinki and is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water...
people are noted as having said that winter had begun when the waxwings (
Bombycilla garrulus) had eaten the last of the rowan fruit.
In Sweden, it was also thought that if the rowan trees grew pale and lost color, the fall and winter would bring much illness.
See also
Sorbus subgenus
AriaThe whitebeams are members of the Rosaceae family, comprising subgenus Aria of genus Sorbus, and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera Sorbus, Torminaria and Chamaemespilus. They are deciduous trees with simple or lobed leaves, arranged alternately...
Sorbus subgenus
MicromelesSorbus alnifolia Alder-leafed Whitebeam or Korean Whitebeam; ) is a species of whitebeam native to eastern Asia in China, Korea and Japan.- Description :...
Sorbus subgenus
Cormus
Sorbus subgenus
Torminaria
Sorbus subgenus
Chamaemespilus