Rowan

Family

Rosaceae

Habit

Tree

Height

15 m

Spread

7 m

Growth

medium

Lifespan

80 years

First yield

after 5 years

Yield per plant

up to 40 kg a year

Yield in cultivation

up to 8 t/ha

Energy yield

800 kcal per m² a year

Hardiness

zone 3–8

Shade tolerance

light shade

Soil

Sand, Silt, Loam, Clay

Soil moisture

semi-dry – very moist

pH

6 – 8.5

Synonyms

Vogelbeere

Times apply to the northern hemisphere in a temperate climate and shift with altitude and cultivar.

Edible: Fruit can be consumed raw or cooked, known for its high acidity that may lead to stomach issues in excessive amounts. It is commonly utilized for making tasty jams and preserves, and can also be dried and combined with grains to make flour. The fruit, approximately 7.5 mm in size, grows in sizeable clusters, facilitating the harvesting process. Its leaves and flowers are brewed as a tea alternative. While young leaves are considered emergency food, they contain a cyanogenic glycoside, so caution is advised. Additionally, the roasted seed is suggested as a coffee substitute in the report.

Medicinal: The fruit's bark is utilized for diarrhea treatment and as a vaginal injection for leukorrhea. The fruit itself has antiscorbutic and astringent properties, commonly used in jams or infusions for diarrhea and hemorrhoids. An infusion serves as a gargle for sore throats and a wash for hemorrhoids and excessive vaginal discharge. Removing the seeds is crucial due to their cyanogenic glycosides content, which can produce toxic hydrogen cyanide when in contact with water. Both the flowers and the fruit exhibit laxative, diuretic, and emmenagogue characteristics.

Other uses: Oil is obtained from the seeds of the plant. The fruits are utilized in facial masks for anti-wrinkle purposes. The young branches yield a dark dye. The plant as a whole is rich in tannin and serves as a dye source. The trees are resilient to wind and are ideal for windbreaks. The wood is tough, with a fine texture, dense, and flexible. It is favored by woodworkers and is employed in crafting tires, gears, and furniture.

Site: The rowan is among the least demanding of all trees and thrives on almost any soil in sun to light partial shade. What matters more is what it brings with it. It belongs to the host range of fireblight and should not be planted next to apple, pear or quince orchards; local distance rules may apply. Birds spread the fruit, so seedlings appear all over the garden. Fallen ripe berries stain concrete and decking, which makes the tree a poor choice above a terrace, seating area or parking space. At 15 to 25 m final height and with a far-reaching sinker root system it needs distance from buildings, but tolerates urban climate, wind and road salt better than most broadleaved trees. Care: Autumn planting works best and root-balled stock establishes quickly. Young trees are highly vulnerable to browsing - roe and red deer take buds, shoots and leaves, hares strip the smooth bark in winter, so a wire guard or trunk sleeve is essential for the first years. Prune sparingly and only in late summer, because the tree bleeds heavily in spring and closes wounds poorly; remove deadwood, competing leaders and inward-growing branches. Do not fertilise, as this only increases susceptibility to fireblight. Gymnosporangium rusts and powdery mildew appear occasionally but need no treatment. Harvest whole clusters from August onwards - anyone wanting the fruit must get there before the thrushes. Trees usually live 80, rarely 120 years.

Seed propagation is reliable once the germination-inhibiting pulp has been removed: crush the berries, let them steep in water for a few days, wash out the seed and dry it. Freshly cleaned seed is sown directly into an outdoor bed in October or November and germinates in spring after natural winter chilling. Dry-stored seed needs artificial stratification: about two weeks warm at 15 to 20 degrees, then 14 to 16 weeks moist and cold at 2 to 5 degrees; germination is then irregular and spread over two years. Seedlings grow slowly in the first year and are lined out after their second season. Large-fruited selections such as Edulis, Konzentra or Rosina come true only by grafting, whip-grafted onto seedling rootstocks of the species in winter or budded in summer. Cuttings root poorly.

The rowan is one of the most valuable woody plants for native wildlife. Its amine-scented flowers attract mainly beetles and flies; in addition some 37 wild bee species take nectar and pollen, none of them specialised. As a caterpillar host it supports around 32 moth and butterfly species, three of them specialists, plus numerous micromoths and weevils; in total about 72 insect and 31 mammal species have been recorded on it. Its greatest value lies in the fruit: 63 bird species eat the berries, among them song, mistle and fieldfare thrushes, robin, blackcap, nuthatch and bullfinch. Because the clusters hang on into winter, the tree bridges the leanest season. Roe and red deer browse leaves and shoots.

Special features: tolerant to pollutants; hybridizes freely with other Sorbus species; produces special breeding selections/crosses with Aronia, medlar, hawthorn, ... =+ biodiversity (feeds 31 mammal, 72 insect, 63 bird species); bitter fruits are edible after frost, vinegar or cooking; rods as versatile magic wands; tree humus buildup;

Europe and western Siberia. The rowan covers almost the entire continent: from Iceland and the Scandinavian Arctic coast through Central Europe to northern Spain, Sicily and Greece, eastwards across the Urals into western Siberia, and further into the Caucasus and Asia Minor. In southern Europe it is confined to the mountains. It climbs higher than any other native European tree, reaching about 2400 m in Tyrol, 1400 m in the Bavarian Forest and 1100 m in the Ore Mountains. Throughout Central Europe it is common and not considered threatened anywhere.

The rowan is a classic pioneer tree. It is among the first woody species to colonise clear-cuts, windthrow gaps, forest edges, railway embankments and abandoned land, because birds carry its seed far and wide. Its site range is unusually broad, from poor to rich, from dry to seasonally wet and from strongly acidic to base-rich soils. It grows in both deciduous and coniferous woodland as well as on peat, block scree, dry rocky slopes, in hedgerows and field copses. As a light-demanding to semi-shade species it persists in closed stands only in gaps and is quickly displaced under beech. At the treeline it remains shrubby.