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Etymology and other names

the rowan tree is a tree that is made out of the ashes of the great ruler Rowan Strafford. he had sacrifised himself just so that the tree would live on in his name and his family. hi freddie.

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-{{otheruses}}
-{{Taxobox
-| image = Rowanberries in late August 2004 in Helsinki.jpg
-| image_caption = European Rowan fruit
-| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
-| unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]]
-| unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]]
-| unranked_ordo = [[Rosids]]
-| ordo = [[Rosales]]
-| familia = [[Rosaceae]]
-| genus = ''[[Sorbus]]''
-| subgenus = '''''Sorbus'''''
-| subdivision_ranks = Species
-| subdivision =
-*see text
-}}
-{{Redirect|Quicken Tree|the racehorse|Quicken Tree (horse)}}
-The '''rowans''' or '''mountain-ashes''' are shrubs or small trees in genus ''[[Sorbus]]'' of family [[Rosaceae]]. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the [[Northern Hemisphere]], with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western [[China]] and the [[Himalaya]], where numerous [[apomixis|apomictic]] microspecies occur.<ref name=rushforth>Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.</ref> The name '''rowan''' was originally applied to the species ''[[Sorbus aucuparia]]'', and is also used for other species in ''Sorbus'' subgenus ''Sorbus''.<ref>McAllister, H.A. 2005. ''The genus Sorbus: Mountain Ash and other Rowans ''. Kew Publishing.</ref>  Rowans are unrelated to the true ash trees which belong to the [[genus]] ''[[Fraxinus]]'', family [[Oleaceae]], though their leaves bear superficial similarity.
-==Etymology and other names==
-The name "rowan" is derived from the [[Old Norse language|Old Norse]] name for the tree, ''raun''. Linguists believe that the Norse name is ultimately derived from a [[proto-Germanic]] word *''raudnian'' meaning "getting red" and which referred to the red foliage and red berries in the autumn. Rowan is one of the familiar wild trees in the [[British Isles]], and has acquired numerous English folk names. The following are recorded folk names for the rowan: Delight of the eye (Luisliu), Mountain ash, Quickbane, Quickbeam, Quicken (tree), Quickenbeam, Ran tree, Roan tree, Roden-quicken, Roden-quicken-royan, Round wood, Round tree, Royne tree, Rune tree, Sorb apple, Thor's helper, Whispering tree, Whitty, Wicken-tree, Wiggin, Wiggy, Wiky, Witch wood, Witchbane, Witchen, Witchen Wittern<ref name="Westwood121">Westwood, Jennifer (1985), ''Albion. A Guide to Legendary Britain''. London: Grafton Books. ISBN 0-246-11789-3. p. 257.</ref> tree. Many of these can be easily linked to the mythology and folklore surrounding the tree. In [[Goidelic|Gaelic]], it is ''caorann'', or ''rudha-an'' ("red one", pronounced similarly to English "rowan").<ref name=tfl/>
-In the [[Canada|Canadian]] provinces of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] and [[Nova Scotia]] this species is commonly referred to as a "Dogberry" tree.{{cn|date=September 2011}}
+==Etymology and other names==
-==Botany==
+the rowan tree is a tree that is made out of the ashes of the great ruler Rowan Strafford. he had sacrifised himself just so that the tree would live on in his name and his family. hi  freddie.
-[[Image:Sorbus glabrescens1.jpg|right|thumb|White-fruited Rowan ''[[Sorbus glabrescens]]'', a Chinese species with white fruit]]
-Rowans are mostly small [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s 10–20 m tall, though a few are [[shrub]]s. The [[leaf|leaves]] are arranged alternately, and are [[pinnate]], with (7-)11-35 leaflets; a terminal leaflet is always present. The [[flower]]s are borne in dense [[corymb]]s; each flower is creamy white, and 5–10&nbsp;mm across with five petals. The [[fruit]] is a small [[pome]] 4–8&nbsp;mm diameter, bright orange or red in most species, but pink, yellow or white in some Asian species. The fruit are soft and juicy, which makes them a very good food for [[bird]]s, particularly [[waxwing]]s and [[thrush (bird)|thrushes]], which then distribute the rowan [[seed]]s in their droppings.<ref name=rushforth/> Due to their small size the fruits are often referred to as berries, but a [[berry]] is a [[simple fruit]] produced from a single ovary, whereas a [[pome]] is an [[accessory fruit]].
-Rowan is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species; see [[list of Lepidoptera that feed on Sorbus|Lepidoptera that feed on ''Sorbus'']].
-[[Image:Rowan tree 20081002b.jpg|right|thumb|Mature European Rowan tree]]
-The best-known species is the European Rowan ''Sorbus aucuparia'', a small tree typically 4–12 m tall growing in a variety of habitats throughout northern [[Europe]] and in [[mountain]]s in southern Europe and southwest [[Asia]]. Its berries are a favourite food for many birds and are a traditional wild-collected food in [[UK|Britain]] and [[Scandinavia]]. It is one of the hardiest [[Europe]]an trees, occurring to 71° north in [[Vardø]] in Arctic [[Norway]], and has also become widely [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalised]] in northern [[North America]].
-[[Image:Rowan flowers-oliv.jpg|right|thumb|Rowan flowers]]
-The greatest diversity of form as well as the largest number of Rowan species is in [[Asia]], with very distinctive species such as Sargent's Rowan ''Sorbus sargentiana'' with large leaves 20–35&nbsp;cm long and 15–20&nbsp;cm broad and very large corymbs with 200-500 flowers, and at the other extreme, Small-leaf Rowan ''Sorbus microphylla'' with leaves 8–12&nbsp;cm long and 2.5–3&nbsp;cm broad. While most are trees, the Dwarf Rowan ''Sorbus reducta'' is a low [[shrub]] to 50&nbsp;cm tall. Several of the Asian species are widely cultivated as ornamental trees.
-North American native species in this subgenus include the American mountain-ash ''Sorbus americana'' and Showy mountain-ash ''Sorbus decora'' in the east and Sitka mountain-ash ''Sorbus sitchensis'' in the west.
-Numerous [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrids]], mostly behaving as true species reproducing by [[apomixis]], occur between rowans and [[whitebeams]]; these are variably intermediate between their parents but generally more resemble whitebeams and are usually grouped with them (q.v.).
-==Selected species==
-{{div col|colwidth=300px}}
-*''[[Sorbus aucuparia]]'', European rowan
-*''[[Sorbus americana]]'', American mountain-ash
-*''[[Sorbus californica]]''
-*''[[Sorbus cashmiriana]]'', Kashmir rowan
-*''[[Sorbus commixta]]'', Japanese rowan
-*''[[Sorbus decora]]'', Showy mountain-ash
-*''[[Sorbus esserteauiana]]'', Esserteau's rowan
-*''[[Sorbus fosteri]]''
-*''[[Sorbus fruticosa]]''
-*''[[Sorbus glabrescens]]'', White-fruited rowan
-*''[[Sorbus harrowiana]]'', Harrow rowan
-*''[[Sorbus hupehensis]]'', Hubei rowan
-*''[[Sorbus insignis]]''
-*''[[Sorbus khumbuensis]]''
-*''[[Sorbus koehneana]]''
-*''[[Sorbus lanata]]''
-*''[[Sorbus matsumurana]]''
-*''[[Sorbus maderensis]]'', Madeira rowan
-*''[[Sorbus microphylla]]'', Small-leaf rowan
-*''[[Sorbus oligodonta]]'', Kite-leaf rowan
-*''[[Sorbus pallescens]]''
-*''[[Sorbus pekinensis]]''
-*''[[Sorbus pinnatifida]]''
-*''[[Sorbus pluripinnata]]''
-*''[[Sorbus pohuashanensis]]''
-*''[[Sorbus pontica]]''
-*''[[Sorbus poteriifolia]]''
-*''[[Sorbus prattii]]''
-*''[[Sorbus pseudovilmorinii]]''
-*''[[Sorbus pygmaea]]''
-*''[[Sorbus randaiensis]]''
-*''[[Sorbus redliana]]''
-*''[[Sorbus reducta]]'', Dwarf rowan
-*''[[Sorbus rehderiana]]''
-*''[[Sorbus retroflexis]]''
-*''[[Sorbus rockii]]''
-*''[[Sorbus rotundifolia]]''
-*''[[Sorbus rufo-ferruginea]]''
-*''[[Sorbus rufopilosa]]'', Tsema rowan
-*''[[Sorbus sargentiana]]'', Sargent's rowan
-*''[[Sorbus scalaris]]'', Ladder rowan
-*''[[Sorbus scopulina]]'', Greene mountain-ash (var. scopulina) or Cascade mountain-ash (var. cascadensis)
-*''[[Sorbus simonkaiana]]''
-*''[[Sorbus sitchensis]]'', Sitka mountain-ash
-*''[[Sorbus stankovii]]''
-*''[[Sorbus taurica]]''
-*''[[Sorbus ursina]]''
-*''[[Sorbus vertesensis]]''
-*''[[Sorbus vestita]]''
-*''[[Sorbus vilmorinii]]'', Vilmorin's rowan
-*''[[Sorbus wardii]]''
-*''[[Sorbus wilfordii]]''
-{{div col end}}
-==Uses==
-Rowans are excellent small ornamental trees for [[park]]s, [[garden]]s and [[wildlife]] areas. Several of the Chinese species, such as White-fruited rowan (''Sorbus glabrescens'') are popular for their unusual fruit colour, and Sargent's rowan (''Sorbus sargentiana'') for its exceptionally large clusters of fruit. Numerous [[cultivar]]s have also been selected for garden use, several of them, such as the yellow-fruited ''Sorbus'' 'Joseph Rock', of hybrid origin.<ref name=rushforth/> They are very attractive to fruit-eating birds, which is reflected in the old name "bird catcher".
-The [[wood]] is dense and used for carving and turning and for tool handles and walking sticks.<ref name=vedel>Vedel, H., & Lange, J. (1960). ''Trees and Bushes in Wood and Hedgerow''. Metheun & Co. Ltd., London.</ref> Rowan fruit are a traditional source of [[tannin]]s for [[mordant]]ing vegetable dyes.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Neighbourhood Forager: A Guide For The Wild Food Gourmet |last=Henderson |first=Robert K. |year=2000 |publisher=Key Porter Books |location=Toronto |isbn=1-55263-306-3 |page=68}}</ref>
-===Rowan fruit as food===
-The fruit of [[European Rowan]] (''Sorbus aucuparia'') can be made into a slightly bitter [[fruit preserves|jelly]] which in [[UK|Britain]] is traditionally eaten as an accompaniment to [[game (food)|game]], and into [[jam]]s and other preserves, on their own, or with  other fruit. The fruit can also be a substitute for [[coffee]] beans, and have many uses in [[alcoholic beverage]]s: to flavour [[liqueur]]s and [[cordial]]s, to produce [[fruit wine|country wine]], and to flavour [[ale]]. In Austria a clear rowan schnapps is distilled which is called by its German name Vogelbeer.
-Rowan [[cultivar]]s with superior fruit for human food use are available but not common; mostly the fruits are gathered from wild trees growing on public lands.
-Rowan fruit contains [[sorbic acid]], an acid that takes its name from the Latin name of the genus ''Sorbus''. The raw fruit also contain [[parasorbic acid]] (about 0.4%-0.7% in the European rowan<ref>O Raspe, C Findlay, AL Jacquemart. ''Sorbus aucuparia L.'' The Journal of Ecology, 2000</ref>), which causes [[indigestion]] and can lead to [[kidney]] damage, but [[heat]] treatment ([[cooking]], heat-[[drying (food)|drying]] etc.) and, to a lesser extent, freezing, neutralises it, by changing it to the benign sorbic acid. Luckily, they are also usually too astringent to be palatable when raw. Collecting them after first frost (or putting in the freezer) cuts down on the bitter taste as well.
-===Mythology and folklore===
-The European rowan (''S. aucuparia'') has a long tradition in European mythology and folklore. It was thought to be a magical tree and protection against malevolent beings.<ref name=tfl>Trees for Life: [http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/tfl.mythrowan.html Mythology and Folklore of the Rowan]</ref> In Celtic mythology the rowan is called the Traveller's Tree because it prevents those on a journey from getting lost.<ref>Eyers, Jonathan (2011). ''Don't Shoot the Albatross!: Nautical Myths and Superstitions''. A&C Black, London, UK. ISBN 978-1-4081-3131-2.</ref> It was said in England that this was the tree on which the Devil hanged his mother.<ref name="Westwood121"/> In [[Norse mythology]] the rowan was associated with the goddess [[Sif]].
-The density of the rowan wood makes it very usable for walking sticks and [[wand|magician's staves]]. This is why druid staffs, for example, have traditionally been made out of rowan wood, and its branches were often used in [[dowsing rod]]s and [[wand|magic wands]] {{Fact|date=December 2008}}. Rowan was carried on vessels to avoid storms, kept in houses to guard against lightning, and even planted on graves to keep the deceased from haunting. It was also used to protect one from [[witch]]es.<ref>[[Sir James Frazer]], [[The Golden Bough]], p620, Papermac Edition, 1987, ISBN 0-333-43430-7</ref> Often birds' droppings contain rowan seeds, and if such droppings land in a fork or hole where old leaves have accumulated on a larger tree, such as an [[oak]] or a [[maple]], they may result in a rowan growing as an [[epiphyte]] on the larger tree. Such a rowan is called a "flying rowan" and was thought of as especially potent against witches and their [[black magic|magic]], and as a counter-charm against sorcery.<ref>[[Sir James Frazer]], [[The Golden Bough]], p702, Papermac Edition, 1987, ISBN 0-333-43430-7</ref> Rowan's alleged protection against enchantment made it perfect to be used in making [[Runic calendar|rune staves]] (Murray, p.&nbsp;26), for metal divining, and to protect cattle from harm by attaching sprigs to their sheds. Leaves and fruit were added to [[divination]] [[incense]] for better [[scrying]].
-In [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]], popular folklore maintains that a heavy crop of fruit means a hard or difficult winter. Similarly, in Finland and Sweden, the number of fruit on the trees was used as a predictor of the [[snow]] cover during [[winter]]. This is now considered mere superstition (however one can hear old men talk of it), as fruit production for a given  summer is related to weather conditions the previous [[summer]], with warm, dry summers increasing the amount of stored sugars available for subsequent flower and fruit production; it has no predictive relationship to the weather of the next winter.<ref>Kobro, S., Søreide, L., Djønne, E., Rafoss, T., Jaastad, G., & Witzgall, P. (2003). Masting of rowan Sorbus aucuparia L. ''Population Ecology'' 45 (1): 25-30.</ref><ref>Raspe, O., Findlay, C., & Jacquemart, A. (2000). Sorbus aucuparia. ''Journal of Ecology'' 88 (5): 910-930.</ref> Contrary to the above, in [[Maalahti]], Finland  the opposite was thought.<ref>Tillhagen, Carl-Herman. (1995). Skogarna och träden: Naturvård i gångna tider. Carlssons bokförlag, Stockholm.</ref> If the rowan flowers were plentiful then the rye harvest would also be plentiful. Similarly, if the rowan flowered twice in a year there would be many potatoes and many weddings that autumn. And in [[Sipoo]] people are noted as having said that winter had begun when the [[waxwings]] (''[[Bombycilla garrulus]]'') had eaten the last of the rowan fruit.<ref>Mannhardt, Wilhelm. (1963). Wald- und Feldkulte. Bd. I. Der Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstämmes. p. 52. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft Verlag</ref>
-In Sweden, it was also thought that if the rowan trees grew pale and lost color, the fall and winter would bring much illness.<ref>Tillhagen, Carl-Herman. (1995). Skogarna och träden: Naturvård i gånga tider. Carlssons bokförlag, Stockholm</ref>
-== See also ==
-''Sorbus'' subgenus ''[[Whitebeam|Aria]]''<br>
-''Sorbus'' subgenus [[Sorbus alnifolia|''Micromeles'']]<br/>
-''Sorbus'' subgenus [[Sorbus domestica|''Cormus'']]<br/>
-''Sorbus'' subgenus [[Sorbus torminalis|''Torminaria'']]<br/>
-''Sorbus'' subgenus [[Sorbus chamaemespilus|''Chamaemespilus'']]
-== References ==
-{{Commons|Sorbus}}
-{{reflist|2}}
-[[Category:Sorbus]]
-[[Category:Trees of subpolar oceanic climate]]
-[[Category:Plant subgenera]]
-[[da:Røn (Sorbus)]]
-[[de:Eberesche]]
-[[fr:Sorbier des oiseleurs]]
-[[nl:Lijsterbes]]
-[[nn:Rogn- og asalslekta]]
-[[ru:Рябина]]