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Sorbus aucuparia

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Sorbus aucuparia
Rowan growing with Mountain Pine in the Italian Alps
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Rosales
Family:
Rosaceae
Genus:
Sorbus
Subgenus:
Sorbus
Section:
Sorbus[1]
Species:
S. aucuparia
Binomial name
Sorbus aucuparia

Sorbus aucuparia (Rowan, European Rowan, Mountain-ash, or European mountain-ash), is a species of the genus Sorbus, native to most of Europe except for the far south, and northern Asia. In the south of its range in the Mediterranean region it is confined to high altitudes in mountains.[2][3] It is the most widely available mountain-ash species in the United States.[4]

Sometimes called "Mountain Ash",[5][6] Sorbus is unrelated to the true Ash tree though the leaves are superficially similar.

It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree typically growing to 8–10 m tall, more rarely 20 m, and exceptionally to 28 m.[7] The bark is smooth, silvery grey of young trees, becoming scaly pale grey-brown and occasionally fissured on old trees. The shoots are green and variably hairy at first, becoming grey-brown and hairless; the buds are conspicuous, purple-brown, and often densely hairy. The leaves are pinnate, 10–22 cm long and 6-12 cm broad, with 9–19 (most often 13–15) leaflets; each leaflet is 3–7 cm long and 15–23 mm broad, with a coarsely serrated margin; they are variably hairy, particularly the petiole and leaf veins on the underside. The hermaphrodite flowers are produced in large terminal corymbs 8–15 cm diameter with up to 250 flowers, the individual flowers 1 cm diameter, with five creamy-white petals, and are insect pollinated. This occurs in May.[8] The fruit is a small pome 6–9 mm (rarely up to 14 mm) diameter, green at first, ripening bright red in late summer, and containing up to eight (most commonly two) small seeds. It is diploid, with a chromosome count of 2n=34.[2][9][10]

Four[1] or five[2][3][11] subspecies are recognised, for example:

  • Sorbus aucuparia subsp. aucuparia. Temperate Europe and northwest Asia, south to central Spain, central Italy, and northernmost Greece, and east to the Ob and Irtysh rivers. Tree form; leaves and shoots hairy.
  • Sorbus aucuparia subsp. fenenkiana T.Georgiev & Stoj. Bulgaria (endemic).
  • Sorbus aucuparia subsp. glabrata (Wimm. & Grab.) Cajander. (syn. S. glabrata (Wimm. & Grab.) Hedl.). Subarctic regions, from Iceland, northernmost Scotland (Orkney, Shetland), northern Scandinavia, northwest Russia, and also locally at tree line in central Europe in the Alps and Carpathians. Shrubby; leaves and shoots less hairy.
  • Sorbus aucuparia subsp. praemorsa (Guss.) Nyman. High altitudes in the Mediterranean region in France (Corsica) and Italy (Sicily and Calabria).
  • Sorbus aucuparia subsp. sibirica (Hedl.) Krylov (syn. S. sibirica Hedl.). Temperate northern Asia, east of the Ob and Irtysh rivers. Tree form; leaves and shoots hairless.

Ecology

See also List of Lepidoptera that feed on Sorbus
Leaves and flowers

Rowan is very tolerant of cold and is often found at high altitude on mountains; in the UK it occurs at up to 1 000 m altitude, higher than any other tree, and in France up to 2 000 m.[6][9][12]

It is very tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, including thin acid soils and cracks in cliffs. It also fairly frequently grows as an epiphyte in clefts or cavities of larger trees such as Scots Pines, though epiphytic specimens rarely have growing conditions adequate for them to reach maturity.[9]

The fruit is an important food resource for many birds, notably Redwings, Fieldfares, Blackbirds, Mistle Thrushes and Waxwings, which in turn disperse the seeds in their droppings. The seeds are eaten by Pine Grosbeaks and other large finches.[13] The fruit is also known as rowan berries. These berries provide high pH or acid and well-drained soils that keep stress to a minimum. [14]

The foliage and bark is eaten by Red Deer, Roe Deer, and Mountain Hares, and a small number of insect larvae, including the moth Venusia cambrica, the case-bearer moth Coleophora anatipennella and leaf-miners of genus Stigmella. The snail Helix aspersa also feeds on the leaves.[9]

Cultivation and uses

Rowan pomes ("berries")

Like other rowans, it is widely grown as an ornamental tree. Several cultivars have been selected, including 'Asplenifolia' with very deeply serrated leaves, 'Beissneri' with coppery-orange bark and erect branching, and 'Fructu Luteo' with yellow fruit.[2]

The fruit, called rowan berries in culinary usage, are usually quite bitter, but are used to make jam or jelly, with a distinctive bitter flavour. Due to wide range of the European Rowan, its fruits are used in many national cuisines to add a distinctive sour/bitter flavour to dishes or drinks. Rowan jelly is a traditional accompaniment to game and venison.[15] The cultivar 'Edulis' has been selected for its less bitter fruit.[2]

Medical research

The fruit of Sorbus aucuparia has been tested in scientific research. The extracts of its fruit, the rowan berry, were screened for their effectiveness against human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells. Although it was not the most effective out of the berries tested, the rowan was proven effective. It reduced the viability to < 50% of control at 50 μg/mL. It reduced the growth of the HeLa cell. [16] Ultimately, this is proving that rowan berries have antiproliferative agents that can slow down the process of growing cervical cancer cells.

Folklore

The Sorbus Aucuparia is also known as the rowan, mountain-ash, wittern,whitty, wiggen, and quickbeam. It is believed to have protective magical powers against different kinds of witchcraft. This was a common belief in Britain. Rowan twigs were placed over the bed in Lancashire to give a person peaceful sleep. In some places, such as North Yorkshire, people made "witch wood" out of rowan twigs and placed them above beds and doorways to ward off witches.[17]

In the United Kingdom, where it is often known as the wiggen tree, the Mountain Ash has traditionally been used as an anti-witching device. [18][19]

References

  1. ^ a b McAllister, H.A. 2005. The genus Sorbus: Mountain Ash and other Rowans . Kew Publishing.
  2. ^ a b c d e Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
  3. ^ a b Den Virtuella Floran: Sorbus aucuparia map
  4. ^ Dirr, Michael A. (1997). Dirr's Hardy trees and shrubs : an illustrated encyclopedia (13th print. ed.). Portland, Or.: Timber Press. ISBN 0881924040.
  5. ^ Vedel, H., & Lange, J. (1960). Trees and Bushes in Wood and Hedgerow. Methuen & Co Ltd.
  6. ^ a b Arkive: Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
  7. ^ Tree Register of the British Isles
  8. ^ Dirr, Michael A. (1997). Dirr's Hardy trees and shrubs : an illustrated encyclopedia (13th print. ed.). Portland, Or.: Timber Press. ISBN 0881924040.
  9. ^ a b c d Trees for Life Species Profile: Rowan
  10. ^ Flora of NW Europe: Sorbus aucuparia
  11. ^ Flora Europaea: Sorbus aucuparia
  12. ^ Mitchell, A. F. (1982). The Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-219037-0
  13. ^ Snow, D. W. & Perrins, C. M. (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic Concise Edition. OUP ISBN 0-19-854099-X.
  14. ^ Dirr, Michael A. (1997). Dirr's Hardy trees and shrubs : an illustrated encyclopedia (13th print. ed.). Portland, Or.: Timber Press. ISBN 0881924040.
  15. ^ Davidson, A. (1999). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-211579-0.
  16. ^ McDougall, Gordon J. (14). "Berry Extracts Exert Different Antiproliferative". American Chemical Society. 56: 3016–3023. Retrieved September 25, 2012. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  17. ^ Simpson, Jacqueline (2003). A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford: Oxford Reference Online.
  18. ^ "Witchcraft: The Mountain Ash", in The Table Book; or, Everlasting Calendar of Popular Amusements, Sports, Pastimes, Ceremonies, Manners, Customs, and Events, Each of the Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Days, in Past and Present Times; Forming a Complete History of the Year, Months, and Seasons, and a Perpetual Key to the Almanac, Including Accounts of the Weather, Rules for Health and Conduct, Remarkable and Important Anecdotes, Facts, and Notices, in Chronology, Antiquities, Topography, Biography, Natural History, Art, Science, and General Literature; Derived from the Most Authentic Sources, and Valuable Original Communication, with Poetical Elucidations, for Daily Use and Diversion. Vol I., ed. William Hone, (London: 1827) p 337.
  19. ^ "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) p 72-74.
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