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Sorbus aucuparia, commonly called rowan (, also ) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family.
The tree has a slender trunk with smooth bark, a loose and roundish crown, and its leaves are pinnate in pairs of leaflets on a central vein with a terminal leaflet. It blossoms from May to June in dense of small yellowish white flowers and develops small red as fruit that ripen from August to October and are eaten by many bird species.
It is a highly variable species, and have used different definitions of the species to include or exclude trees native to certain areas. A recent definition includes trees native to most of Europe and parts of Asia, as well as northern Africa. The range extends from Madeira, the British Isles and Iceland to Russia and northern China. Unlike many plants with similar distributions, it is not native to Japan. The plant is frost hardy and colonizes disrupted and inaccessible places as a short-lived pioneer species.
The fruit and foliage have been used in the creation of dishes and beverages, as a folk medicine, and as fodder for livestock. Its tough and flexible wood has traditionally been used for woodworking. It is planted to fortify soil in mountain regions or as an ornamental tree and has several .
The compound leaves are pinnate with four to nine pairs of leaflets on either side of a central vein and with a terminal leaflet. The leaves are up to long, wide. They have paired leaf-like stipules at the base of the petiole, and are arranged alternately along a branch, distinguishing them from those of ash, Fraxinus excelsior, which are opposite and without stipules. The leaflets are elongated-lanceolate in shape, long, and wide with a sharply serrated edge, and have short stems or sit close to the central vein except for the outermost leaflet.Godet 1994, p. 138 Leaflets are covered in gray-silvery hairs after sprouting but become mostly bare after they unfold.Reichholf, Steinbach 1992, p. 103 Their upper side is dark green and their underside is a grayish green and felted. Young leaflets smell like marzipan when .Hecker 1995, p. 130 The leaflets are asymmetrical at the bottom. The foliage grows in May and turns yellow in autumn or a dark red in dry locations.Smolik 1996, p. 63
The buds are often longer than and have flossy to felted hairs. These hairs, which disappear over time, cover dark brown to black bud scales. The terminal buds are oval and pointed and larger than axillary buds, which are narrow, oval and pointed, close to the twig, and often curved towards it.
The species is monoecious. It reaches maturity at age 10 and carries ample fruit almost every year. The plant flowers from May to June (on occasion again in September) in many yellowish white that contain about 250 flowers.Kremer 2010, p. 42Raspé, Findlay, Jacquemart 2000, p. 910 The corymbs are large, upright, and bulging.Godet 1998, p. 68 The flowers are between in diameter and have five small, yellowish green, and triangular that are covered in hairs or bare. The five round or oval petals are yellowish white and the flower has up to 25 fused with the corolla to form a hypanthium and an ovary with two to five styles; the style is fused with the receptacle. The flowers have an unpleasant trimethylamine smell. Their nectar is high in fructose and glucose.
Its berries are round between in diameter that ripen from August to October. The fruit are green before they ripen and then typically turn to orange or scarlet in color. The sepals persist as a black, five-pointed star on the ripe fruit.Erlbeck, Haseder, Stinglwagner 1998, p. 167 A corymb carries 80 to 100 pomes.Garcke 1972, p. 722 A pome contains a star-shaped ovary with two to five each containing one or two flat, narrow, and pointed reddish seeds. The flesh of the fruit contains , citric acid, malic acid, parasorbic acid, pectin, provitamin A, sorbitol, tannin, and vitamin C. The seeds contain glycoside.Hensel 2007, p. 112 Its fruit persists for an average of 100.6 days, and bears an average of 2.5 seeds per fruit. Fruits average 73.0% water, and their dry matter includes 8.9% and 3.1% .
The species has a chromosome number of 2 n=34.Raspé, Findlay, Jacquemart 2000, p. 916
The common name mountain ash dates from the 16th century. It was first used by John Gerard in 1597, translating it directly from the then botanists' Latin Montana fraxinus Grigson G. 1974. A Dictionary of English Plant Names. Allen Lane
S. aucuparia was previously categorized as Pyrus aucuparia.Hora 1993, p. 184
Sorbus aucuparia L. belongs to Carl Linnaeus.
It can be found in almost all of Europe and the Caucasus up to Northern Russia and Siberia, but it is not native to Southern Spain, Southern Greece, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands, the Azores, and the Faroe Islands.Větvička 1995, p. 200 The species was introduced as an ornamental species in North America. It is widespread from plains to mountains up to the tree line where it grows as the only deciduous tree species among krummholz. In the Alps it grows at elevations of up to . S. aucuparia appears north of the boreal forest at the arctic tree line; in Norway, it is found up to the 71st parallel north. It has naturalized in America from Washington to Alaska and eastward in Canada and the northeast of the US very successfully.
S. aucuparia is an undemanding species and can withstand shade. It is frost hardy and can tolerate winter dryness and a brief growing season.Raspé, Findlay, Jacquemart 2000, p. 915 The plant is also resistant to air pollution, wind, and snow pressure.Laudert 1999, p. 80Laudert 1999, p. 83 It mostly grows on soil that is moderately dry to moderately damp, acidic, low on nutrients, sandy, and loose.Godet 2008, p. 378 It often grows in stony soil or clay soil, but also sandy soil or wet peat. The plant grows best on fresh, loose, and fertile soil, prefers average humidity, and does not tolerate saline soil or waterlogging.Aichele, Golte-Bechtle 1997, p. 78 It can be found in light woodland of all kinds and as a pioneer species over fallen dead trees or in clearcuttings, and at the edge of forests or at the sides of roads. The seeds germinate easily, so the plant may appear on inaccessible rock, ruins, branch forks, or on hollow trees.
The tallest S. aucuparia in the United Kingdom stands in the Chiltern Hills in South East England. This exceptional specimen is tall and has a trunk diameter of . In Germany, an unusually large specimen is located near Wendisch Waren, a village in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This tree stands at more than tall, is around 100 years old, and has a diameter of .Ullrich, Kühn, Kühn 2009, p. 29 The tallest known specimen in Ireland is an tall specimen at Glenstal Abbey, County Limerick.
It is usually later superseded by larger forest trees.Lohmann 2005, p. 61 In Central Europe it often grows in association with red elderberry, Salix caprea, Populus tremula, and Betula pendula. The plant is highly flammable and tends not to accumulate plant litter.Raspé, Findlay, Jacquemart 2000, p. 913
Other species of the genus Sorbus easily hybridize with S. aucuparia and hybrid speciation can result; hybrids include Sorbus × hybrida, a small tree with oval serrated leaves and two to three pairs of leaflets, which is a hybrid with Sorbus × intermedia, and S. thuringiaca, a medium-size tree with elongated leaves and one to three pairs of leaflets that are sometimes fused at the central vein, which is a hybrid with Sorbus aria.Hora 1993, p. 185–186
The main pests for S. aucuparia are the apple fruit moth Argyresthia conjugella and the mountain-ash sawfly Hoplocampa alpina.Friedrich, Schuricht 1989, p. 43Friedrich, Schuricht 1989, p. 44 The rust fungus Gymnosporangium cornutum produces leaf galls. The leaves are not palatable to insects, but are used by insect larvae, including by the moth Venusia cambrica, the case-bearer moth Coleophora anatipennella, and of the genus Stigmella. The snail Cornu aspersum feeds on the leaves. The plant can suffer from fire blight.Flint 1997, p. 641
Due to their bitterness, raw rowan berries normally are not very palatable, but can be debittered and made into compote, jelly, jam, a tart syrup or chutney, pressed into juice. It is also used to make wine, , herbal tea, and flour.Henschel 2002, p. 220Dreyer 2009, p. 108 Fruit are served as a side dish to lamb or game. Debittering can be accomplished by freezing, cooking, or drying, which degrades the parasorbic acid. The fruit are red colored in August but usually only harvested in October after the first frost by cutting the corymbs.Breckwoldt 2011, p. 153Pahlow 1993, p. 105 The robust qualities of S. aucuparia make it a source for fruit in harsh mountain climate and Maria Theresa, ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, recommended the planting of the species in 1779. The oldest Finnish candy still commercially produced, Pihlaja, is named after and originally contained rowanberries.
A more palatable variety, named Sorbus aucuparia var. dulcis Kraetzl, or var. edulis Dieck, or var. moravica Dippel, was first discovered in 1810 near Ostružná in the Hrubý Jeseník mountain range of Northern Moravia and became widespread in Germany and Austria the early 20th century.Friedrich, Schuricht 1989, p. 37Friedrich, Schuricht 1989, p. 38 Its leaves are larger and pointed, only the front part of the leaflets is serrated, and they have darker bark, larger buds and larger fruit.Friedrich, Schuricht 1989, p. 40 Similar non-bitter varieties found in Southern Russia were first introduced in Central Europe in 1900 as 'Rossica' and 'Rossica Major', which has large fruit up to in diameter.Friedrich, Schuricht 1989, p. 41
Two widespread cultivars of the Moravian variety are 'Konzentra' and 'Rosina', which were selected beginning in 1946 by the Institut für Gartenbau Dresden-Pillnitz, an agricultural research institute in Saxony, from 75 specimens found mostly in the Ore Mountains, and made available in 1954. Fruit of the more widely used 'Konzentra' are small to medium-sized, mildly aromatic and tart, easier to transport because of their thicker peel, and used for juicing, while fruit of 'Rosina' are larger, sweet and tart, and aromatic, and Candied fruit or used in compote.Friedrich, Schuricht 1989, p. 276Friedrich, Schuricht 1989, p. 277 The two cultivars are self-pollinating, yield fruit early, and the sugar content increases while the acid content decreases as the fruit ripen.Fischer 1995, p. 213 'Beissneri' is a cultivar with reddish foliage and bark and serrated leaves. Other edible varieties originate in and are named after Klosterneuburg, Lower Austria.Neuweiler, Röthlisberger, Rusterholz, Terrettaz 2000, p. 214
Russian botanist Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin began in 1905 to crossbreed common S. aucuparia with other species to create fruit trees. His experiments resulted in the cultivars 'Burka', 'Likjornaja', 'Dessertnaja', 'Granatnaja', 'Rubinovaja', and 'Titan'. Other S. aucuparia hybrids planted in Western Europe beginning in the 1980s include 'Apricot Queen', 'Brilliant Yellow', 'Chamois Glow', 'Pink Queen', and 'Salmon Queen'.Friedrich, Schuricht 1989, p. 42
The leaves were fermented with leaves of Myrica gale and oak bark to create herb beer. Fruits are eaten as a mash in small amounts against lack of appetite or an upset stomach and stimulate production of gastric acid. In folk medicine they are used as a laxative, against rheumatism and kidney disease, and as a gargled juice against hoarseness.
The species is planted in mountain ranges to fortify landslide and avalanche zones.
‘Sheerwater Seedling', an upright and slender cultivar, and 'Wisley Gold' with yellow fruits, have received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Cultivars are vegetatively propagated via cuttings, grafting, or shield budding.
In English folklore, twigs of S. aucuparia were believed to ward off evil spirits and witches. "Witchcraft: The Mountain Ash", in The Table Book, ed. William Hone (London, 1827), p. 337. "The Mountain Ash, or Wicken or Wiggen Tree", in Lancashire Folk-lore: Illustrative of the Superstitious Beliefs and Practices, Local Customs and Usages of the People of the County Palatine, edited by John Harland and T. T. Wilkinson (London, 1867), pp. 72–74. The plant was called "the witch" in England and dowsing rods to find ores were made out of its wood. Twigs were used to drive cattle to the pasture for the first time in spring to ensure their health and fertility.Scherf 2006, p. 58. The wooden shafts of forks and other farm implements were constructed from the species to protect farm animals and production from witches' spells. In weather lore, a year with plentiful rowan fruit would have a good grain harvest but be followed by a severe winter.
In Scottish folklore, boughs of rowan were traditionally taken into cattle in May to protect livestock from evil, and rowan trees were planted in pastures for similar purposes.
S. aucuparia is used in the coats of arms of the German municipalities Ebernhahn, Eschenrode, and Hermsdorf, and of the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. Rowan is part of the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and the logo of both Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors.
Footnotes
(1994). 9783572006854, Orbis. ISBN 9783572006854
(1997). 9783440072448, Kosmos. ISBN 9783440072448
(1993). 9783871812057, DRW-Verlag. ISBN 9783871812057
(2025). 9783868510218, Stiftung Warentest. ISBN 9783868510218
(2025). 9783440118085, Kosmos. ISBN 9783440118085
(1998). 9783440075111, Kosmos. ISBN 9783440075111
(1995). 9783800155422, Ulmer. ISBN 9783800155422
(1997). 9780471599197, Wiley. ISBN 9780471599197
(1989). 9783788805623, Neumann-Neudamm. ISBN 9783788805623
(1972). 9783489680345, Parey. ISBN 9783489680345
(1994). 9783894401542, Naturbuch-Verlag. ISBN 9783894401542
(1998). 9783894402969, Naturbuch-Verlag. ISBN 9783894402969
(2025). 9783800157785, Ulmer. ISBN 9783800157785
(2025). 9783835404793, BLV. ISBN 9783835404793
(1995). 9783405137373, BLV. ISBN 9783405137373
(2025). 9783440091548, Kosmos. ISBN 9783440091548
(2025). 9783440107980, Kosmos. ISBN 9783440107980
(2025). 9783800153442, Ulmer. ISBN 9783800153442
(1999). 9783405153502, BLV. ISBN 9783405153502
(2025). 9783405168759, BLV. ISBN 9783405168759
(1997). 9782840500896, Presses de l'Université de Paris-Sorbonne. ISBN 9782840500896
(2025). 9783906679754, LmZ. ISBN 9783906679754
(1993). 9783774214729, Gräfe und Unzer. ISBN 9783774214729
(1990). 9783473461738, O. Maier. ISBN 9783473461738
(1992). 9783576101074, Mosaik. ISBN 9783576101074
(2025). 9783405160142, BLV. ISBN 9783405160142
(2025). 9783835400627, BLV. ISBN 9783835400627
(1996). 9783632989196, Tigris. ISBN 9783632989196
(2025). 9783835403765, BLV. ISBN 9783835403765
(1995). 9783768425094, Dausien. ISBN 9783768425094
(2025). 9783774262058, Gräfe und Unzer. ISBN 9783774262058
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