Sorbus aucuparia: Difference between revisions

'''''Sorbus aucuparia''''', commonly called '''rowan''' (UK: /ˈrəʊən/{{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|oʊ|ən}}, US: /ˈroʊən/)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/rowan |title=rowan noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes &#124; Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at |publisher=Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com |date= |accessdate=2022-05-06}}</ref> also {{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|r|aʊ|ən}}) and '''mountain-ash''', is a species of [[deciduous]] tree or shrub in the [[rose family]]. It is a highly variable species, and [[botanist]]s have used different [[Circumscription (taxonomy)|definitions]] of the species to include or exclude trees native to certain areas; a recent definition<ref name=McAllister>{{cite book|author=McAllister, H.A.|year=2005|title=The genus ''Sorbus'': Mountain Ash and other Rowans|publisher=Kew Publishing|isbn=9781842460887}}</ref> 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.<ref name=McAllister/>

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 [[corymb]]s of small yellowish white flowers and develops small red [[pome]]s as fruit that ripen from August to October and are eaten by many bird species. The plant is undemanding and frost hardy and colonizes disrupted and inaccessible places as a short-lived [[pioneer species]].

''Sorbus aucuparia'' occurs asis a small tree or shrub that grows up to between about {{Convertcvt|5 |and |15|m|abbrround=off5}} in height.<ref name="Schauer">Schauer 2001, p. 342</ref> The [[crown (botany)|crown]] is loose and roundish or irregularly shaped but wide and the plant often grows multiple trunks.<ref name="Zauner">Zauner 2000, p. 52</ref><ref name="Harz">Harz 2009, p. 72</ref> A trunk is slender and cylindrical and reaches up to {{Convertconvert|40|cm|abbr=offin|frac=2}} in diameter, and the branches stick out and are slanted upwards.<ref name="Kosmos">Erlbeck, Haseder, Stinglwagner 1998, p. 166</ref> The bark of a young plant is yellowish gray and gleaming and becomes gray-black with lengthwise cracks in advanced age; it descales in small flakes.<ref name="Godet94">Godet 1994, p. 52</ref><ref name="Harz" /> Lenticels in the bark are elongated and colored a bright ocher.<ref name="Godet081">Godet 2008, p. 110</ref> The plant does not often grow older than 80 years and is one of the shortest-lived trees in temperate climate.<ref name="Harz" /><ref name="Laudert57">Laudert 1999, p. 57</ref> The wood has a wide reddish white [[Sapwood (wood)|sapwood]] and a light brown to reddish brown [[heartwood]]. It is diffuse-porous, flexible, elastic, and tough, but not durable, with a density of {{Convertconvert|600 |to |700|kg/m3|abbr=offin}} in a dried state.<ref name="Godet94" /> The roots grow wide and deep, and the plant is capable of [[root sprout]]ing and can regenerate after [[coppicing]].<ref name="Kosmos" />

The compound [[leaves]] are [[pinnate]] with 4four to 9nine pairs of [[leaflet (botany)|leaflets]] on either side of a [[wikt:terete|terete]] central vein and with a terminal leaflet.<ref name="Godet94" /> ThereThe leaves are up to {{cvt|20|cm|frac=2}} long, {{cvt|8|to|12|cm|frac=2}} wide. They have paired leaf-like stipules at the base of the petiole.,<ref name=BSBIcrib>{{cite web |first=T. C. G. |last=Rich |title=The Plant Crib, ''Sorbus'' |url=http://www.bsbi.org.uk/Sorbus_Crib.pdf |publisher=Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland }}</ref> The leavesand are up to {{cvt|20|cm|frac=2}} long, {{cvt|8|to|12|cm|frac=2}} wide, and arranged inalternately an alternate leaf pattern onalong a branch,<ref name="Kosmos" /> distinguishing them from those of ash, ''[[Fraxinus excelsior]]'', which are opposite and without stipules. The leaflets are elongated-lanceolate in shape, {{cvt|2|to|6|cm|frac=4}} long, and {{cvt|1|to|2.5|cm|frac=4}} wide with a sharply serrated edge, and have short stems or sit close to the central vein except for the outermost leaflet.<ref name="Godet943">Godet 1994, p. 138</ref> Leaflets are covered in gray-silvery hairs after sprouting but become mostly bare after they unfold.<ref name="Mosaik">Reichholf, Steinbach 1992, p. 103</ref> Their upper side is dark green and their underside is a grayish green and felted. Young leaflets smell like [[marzipan]] when brayed[[wikt:bray#Etymology_2|bray]]ed.<ref name="Mosaik" /><ref name="Hecker">Hecker 1995, p. 130</ref> The leaflets are asymmetrical at the bottom.<ref name="Harz" /> The foliage grows in May and turns yellow in autumn or a dark red in dry locations.<ref name="Kosmos" /><ref name="Smolik">Smolik 1996, p. 63</ref>

The species is [[monoecious]].<ref name="Hecker" /> It reaches maturity at age 10 and carries ample fruit almost every year.<ref name="Kosmos" /> The plant flowers from May to June (on occasion again in September) in many yellowish white [[corymb]]s that contain about 250 flowers.<ref name="Zauner" /><ref name="Kremer42">Kremer 2010, p. 42</ref><ref name="Raspe910">Raspé, Findlay, Jacquemart 2000, p. 910</ref> The corymbs are large, upright, and bulging.<ref name="Godet98">Godet 1998, p. 68</ref> The flowers are between {{Convertconvert|8 |and |10|mm|abbr=in|frac=8}} in diameter and have five small, yellowish green, and triangular [[sepal]]s that are covered in hairs or bare.<ref name="Godet94" /><ref name="Raspe910" /> The five round or oval petals are yellowish white and the flower has up to 25 [[stamen]]s fused with the [[Petal#corolla|corolla]] to form a [[hypanthium]] and an ovary with two to five styles; the style is fused with the [[Receptacle (botany)|receptacle]].<ref name="Godet94" /><ref name="Godet98" /> The flowers have an unpleasant [[trimethylamine]] smell.<ref name="Hecker" /> Their nectar is high in fructose and glucose.<ref name="Raspe910" />

Its berries are round [[pome]]s between {{cvtconvert|8|and|10|mm||abbr=in|frac=16}} in diameter that ripen from August to October.<ref name="Hecker" /> 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.<ref name="Kosmos" /><ref name="Kosmos2">Erlbeck, Haseder, Stinglwagner 1998, p. 167</ref> A corymb carries 80 to 100 pomes.<ref name="Garcke722">Garcke 1972, p. 722</ref> A pome contains a star-shaped ovary with two to five [[locule]]s each containing one or two flat, narrow, and pointed reddish seeds.<ref name="Godet94" /><ref name="Raspe910" /> The flesh of the fruit contains [[carotenoid]]s, [[citric acid]], [[malic acid]], [[parasorbic acid]], [[pectin]], [[provitamin&nbsp;A]], [[sorbitol]], [[tannin]], and [[vitamin&nbsp;C]].<ref name="Breckwoldt153" /> The seeds contain [[glycoside]].<ref name="Hensel">Hensel 2007, p. 112</ref>

[[File:Sorbus-aucuparia.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=photo|Growing with [[Mountainmountain Pinepine]] in the Italian Alps]]

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{{dubious|date=August 2023|reason=A subspecies can be found on the Gennargentu}}, the [[Balearic Islands]], the [[Azores]], and the [[Faroe Islands]].<ref name="Raspe911" /><ref name="Vetvicka">Větvička 1995, p. 200</ref> The species was introduced as an ornamental species in [[North America]].<ref name="Raspe911" /> It is widespread from plains to mountains up to the [[tree line]] where it grows as the only deciduous tree species among [[krummholz]].<ref name="Kosmos" /> In the Alps it grows at elevations of up to {{cvt|2,0002000|m}}.<ref name="Zauner" /> ''S. aucuparia'' appears north of the [[boreal forest]] at the arctic tree line; in Norway, it is found up to the [[71st parallel north]].<ref name="Godet94" /><ref name="Raspe911" />

The tallest ''S. aucuparia'' in the United Kingdom stands in the [[Chiltern Hills]] in [[South East England]]. This exceptional specimen is {{cvt|28|m}} tall and has a trunk diameter of {{cvt|56|cm}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chilternsaonb.org/ccbmaps/524/137/record-rowan.html |title=Record Rowan |publisher=Chilterns Conservation Board |access-date=7 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019014841/http://www.chilternsaonb.org/ccbmaps/524/137/record-rowan.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 October 2015}}</ref> In Germany, an unusually large specimen is located near [[Wendisch Waren]], a village in [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]]. This tree stands at more than {{cvt|15|m}} tall, is around 100 years old, and has a diameter of {{cvt|70|cm}}.<ref name="Ullrich">Ullrich, Kühn, Kühn 2009, p. 29</ref> The tallest known specimen in Ireland is an {{cvt|18|m}} tall specimen at [[Glenstal Abbey]], [[County Limerick]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/forestry/publications/Rowan_low.pdf |title=Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia L.) |year=2001 |publisher=[[Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090530120103/http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/forestry/publications/Rowan_low.pdf |archivedate=2009-05-30}}</ref>

[[File:WldschdVogelb.JPG|thumb|alt=Trunk with exposed rectangular area of peeled wood through nearly half the trunk thickness, at perhaps breast height|Damage caused by game animal]]

The species is pollinated by bees and flies.<ref name="Hecker" /> Its seeds are not digested by birds and are thus propagated by being passed intact in their droppings.<ref name="Lohmann1">Lohmann 2005, p. 60</ref> The fruit are eaten by about 60 bird species and several mammals.<ref name="Laudert81">Laudert 1999, p. 81</ref> They are liked particularly by [[Thrush (bird)|thrushes]] and other songbirds, and are also eaten by [[even-toed_ungulate|cloven-hoofed game]], [[red fox]], [[European badger]], [[dormouse]], and [[squirrel]].<ref name="Kremer42" /><ref name="Kosmos2" /> The fruit are eaten by migratory birds in winter, including [[Bohemian waxwing]], [[spotted nutcracker]], and [[redwing]].<ref name="Smolik" /> Cloven-hoofed game also excessively browse foliage and bark.<ref name="Kosmos" /> The plant roots can be found in symbiosis with [[arbuscular mycorrhiza]]l and less commonly with [[ectomycorrhiza]]l fungi.<ref name="Raspe916" /><ref name="Raspe915" />

Other species of the genus ''Sorbus'' easily hybridize with ''S.&nbsp;aucuparia'' and [[hybrid speciation]] can result; hybrids include ''[[Sorbus × hybrida]]'', a small tree with oval serrated leaves and 2two to 3three pairs of leaflets, which is a hybrid with ''[[Sorbus × intermedia]]'', and ''[[Sorbus thuringiaca|S.&nbsp;thuringiaca]]'', a medium-size tree with elongated leaves and 1one to 3three pairs of leaflets that are sometimes fused at the central vein, which is a hybrid with ''[[Sorbus aria|S.&nbsp;aria]]''.<ref name="Hora185">Hora 1993, p. 185–186</ref>

==UsageUses==

Fresh fruit are usually not tasty, but they can be debittered and made into compote, jelly, jam, a tangy syrup, a tart chutney, or juice, as well as wine and liqueur, or used for tea or to make flour.<ref name="Kosmos2" /><ref name="Henschel">Henschel 2002, p. 220</ref><ref name="Dreyer">Dreyer 2009, p. 108</ref> Fruit are served as a side dish to lamb or game.<ref name="Laudert83" /> Debittering can be accomplished by freezing, cooking, or drying, which degrades the [[parasorbic acid]].<ref name="Pahlow2" /><ref name="Dreyer" /> The fruit are red colored in August but usually only harvested in October after the first frost by cutting the corymbs.<ref name="Breckwoldt153">Breckwoldt 2011, p. 153</ref><ref name="Pahlow1">Pahlow 1993, p. 105</ref> 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.<ref name="Laudert83" /> The oldest Finnish candy still commercially produced, ''[[Pihlaja]]'', is named after and originally contained rowanberries.

[[File:Sorbus aucuparia fruit comparison.jpg|thumb|alt=Red globose fruit in two clusters, the left larger than those of the right|Comparison of fruit from an edible cultivar (left) and a roadside tree (right)]]

[[File:Freshly cross cut Sorbus aucuparia with heart-wood.jpg|thumb|alt=photo|Freshly cross-cut sorbus''Sorbus aucuparia'' with visible heart-wood]]

[[File:Freshly rip cut Sorbus aucuparia from the island of Engeloeya in Norway.jpg|thumb|alt=photo|Freshly [[rip-cut]] sorbus''Sorbus aucuparia'' with visible heart-wood]]

==CultureIn culture==

In the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', the Norse god [[Thor]] saves himself from a rapid river created by the giantess [[Gjálp]] by grabbing hold of a rowan, which became known as "Thor's protection".<ref>[[Rory{{cite book McTurk|McTurk]]last1=Lindow 1997|first1=John |title=Handbook of Norse Mythology |date=2001 |publisher=ABC-CLIO, pInc. 205|location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=1-57607-217-7 |pages=137–138 |url=https://archive.org/details/handbook-of-norse-mythology-by-john-lindow/page/137 |access-date=29 July 2023}}</ref>

In [[English folklore]], twigs of ''S. aucuparia'' were believed to ward off evil spirits<ref name="Kosmos2" /> and witches.<ref name=Simpson>{{cite book|author1=Simpson, J. |author2=Roud, S. |year=2000|title=Dictionary of English folklore|publisher=Oxford University Press, Incorporated|isbn=97801921001910-19-210019-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iTcdvd1iRXsC}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=bmpMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA337 "Witchcraft: The Mountain Ash"], in ''The Table Book'', ed. William Hone (London, 1827), p. 337.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ha7dHO3W6L8C&q=mountain+ash&pg=PA72 "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.</ref> The plant was called "the witch" in England and dowsing rods to find ores were made out of its wood.<ref name="Laudert84" /> Twigs were used to drive cattle to the pasture for the first time in spring to ensure their health and fertility.<ref name="Scherf">Scherf 2006, p. 58.</ref> The wooden shafts of forks and other farm implements were constructed from the species to protect farm animals and production from witches' spells.<ref name=Simpson/> In weather lore, a year with plentiful rowan fruit would have a good grain harvest but be followed by a severe winter.<ref name="Kosmos2" />

In [[Scottish folklore]], boughs of rowan were traditionally taken into cattle [[byre]]s in May to protect livestock from evil, and rowan trees were planted in pastures for similar purposes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Napier |first=James |date=2008 |title=Western Scottish Folklore & Superstitions |url= |location=Maple Shade NJ |publisher=Lethe Press |page=92 |isbn= 978-15902105431-59021-054-3 }}</ref>

*{{cite book |last1=Scherf |first1=Gertrud |title=Wildpflanzen neu entdecken |edition=1st |year=2006 |publisher=BLV |location=Munich |language=de |isbn=978-3-8354-0062-72}}

[[Category:Flora of AsiaSorbus|aucuparia]]

[[Category:Sorbus|aucupariaTrees of Europe]]