Rowan Facts
Rowan Facts
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| Interesting Rowan Facts: |
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| Rowan is small tree that can reach 33 to 50 feet in height. It has slender trunk and roundish crown. |
| Rowan has silvery brown smooth bark and purple, hairy leaf buds. |
| Rowan develops pinnate leaves during the April. Leaves consist of 5 to 8 pairs of leaflets that are oppositely arranged along the leaf axis and one leaflet on its end. Leaflets are oval-shaped and toothed on the edges. Leaves change their color from green into orange-red during the autumn. |
| Rowan produces creamy white flowers arranged in dense clusters at the end of the branches. Flowers contain both types of reproductive organs (perfect). |
| Rowan blooms from May to June. Flowers emit strong, sweet smell which attracts bees, flies and beetles, main pollinators of this plant. |
| Fruit of rowan is red, berry-like pome with 8 seed. Dense clusters (40 or more "berries") can be seen on the tree from the middle of the summer until the late autumn. |
| Rowan starts to produce fruit 15 years after planting. It propagates via seed that is covered with tough coat. Outer layer of seed needs to be mechanically damaged (process called scarification), usually via exposure to low temperatures, to ensure successful germination. |
| Blackbirds, thrushes, redwings, fieldfares and waxwings like to eat juicy fruit of rowan. They play important role in dispersal of seed. |
| Rowan is rich source of vitamin C. It has sour taste and it is usually consumed in the form of jellies, jams and preserves. |
| Fruit can be used as a substitute for coffee and as a flavoring agent for liqueurs and cordials. Rowan can be also used for the preparation of country wine. |
| Rowan is also known as "mountain ash" due to similarities in the leaf morphology with ash and habit to grow high in the mountains. |
| Rowan was cultivated near the houses in the Ireland and in the churchyards in the Wales in the past due to widespread belief that its red berries provide protection against devil and evil spirits. |
| Wood of rowan was used to prevent curdling of milk and for the manufacture of divining rods in the past. |
| Strong, but not particularly durable, yellowish-brown wood of rowan has application in the manufacture of furniture, walking sticks and tool handles. |
| Rowan can survive more than 100 years in the wild. |
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