Rowan or Mountain Ash is an ancient tree used since ancient times. The berries provide a variety of wild edible delights and offer a range of uses in medicine.
Scientific name
Sorbus aucuparia
Family
Rosaceae
Botanical description
The bark of this small shrubby tree is smooth, shiny and greyish-coloured.
The stem and branches are slender with pinnate leaves that are dark green on the upper side and bluish green on the underside with toothed margins.
The tree yields scented white-petalled flowers in umbrella-like clusters. The berry-like fruit is scarlet, turning from green to yellow to orange-red as they mature.
Photo identification
The following resources provide botanically accurate photos for identification of Rowan (=Mountain Ash), Sorbus aucuparia.
Status
Native to Britain, Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and Western Siberia; introduced to North America and New Zealand.
Habitat and distribution
It prefers rocky places, glens and mountain riversides; also grown as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens.
Parts used for food
Largely berries, but the bark, twigs, buds, flowers, leaves and sap are also edible. See cautions below.
Harvest time
A deciduous tree, fruiting August to November.
Food uses
The berries can be used to make jams, jellies, conserves, marmalades, vinegar, wines, spirits, confectionery, ketchup, pies and soups.
However, the raw berries have a bitter taste unless you know how to pick and prepare them.
The bitter, astringent taste is said to be improved after frost, which helps make the fruit sweeter.
In Estonia, between the 18th–21st centuries, almost all parts of the rowan tree have been used as a wild edible, including the bark, twigs, buds, flowers, leaves, sap and fruit.
Nutritional profile
The berries contain vitamins A and C, as well as other substances like pectin, malic acid and tannins. Candied rowan berries contain 30–40 mg of vitamin C.
In fact, it was once used to treat scurvy and we now know that the tree’s berries contain high amounts of vitamin C.
Recipes
Herbal medicine uses
Since ancient times, the berries have been prescribed for stomach disorders or for bleeding.
The leaves were also used to make remedies for sore eyes, rheumatism, asthma and colds.
The berries and the bark are astringent which may support these uses of the tree.
Other uses
The wood is hard and elastic and has had many commercial uses in woodcraft from making baskets and cartwheels to kitchen utensils and crates.
Safety note
The berries may irritate the stomach if taken in excess, while other sources warn that the seeds may be toxic and cause poisoning.
There is little information about the safety of the tree during pregnancy or when breastfeeding, and so rowan is best avoided at these times.
References
Vickery R. A Dictionary of Plant-Lore. Oxford University Press; 1997.
Sõukand R, Kalle R. Changes in the Use of Wild Food Plants in Estonia: 18th-21st Century. 1st ed. 2016. Springer; 2016. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-33949-8
Cleene M de, Lejeune MC. Compendium of Symbolic and Ritual Plants in Europe. Man & Culture; 2002.
Uphof JCT. Dictionary of Economic Plants. H.R. Engelmann; 1959.
Wyse Jackson P. Ireland’s Generous Nature: The Past and Present Uses of Wild Plants in Ireland. Missouri Botanical Garden Press; 2013.
Ambasta S. The Useful Plants of India. National Institute of Science Communication, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research; 2000.