Species: Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
Family: Roses (ROSACEAE)
Category: Flowering Plants
Location: SW
A. Flowering Plants
More extensive information on flowering plants can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Roses (ROSACEAE)
The Rose family gives us many of our most commercially important fruits, such as the Prunus species. They have alternate leaves and 5-petalled flowers.
C. Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
The Rowan is a small, slender deciduous tree that sports feather-shaped leaves, and creamy white flowers that develop into red berries once pollinated. It is found more in upland Britain than on the Sussex coastal belt, hence its alternative name of 'Mountain Ash'. One of its natural hybrids is the Whitebeam tree. Although they resemble Ash trees, especially in the shape of their leaves, they are unrelated.
Rowans are hermaphrodites. Each flower is both male and female. Insect pollination is still required for these flowers to develop into the familiar berries, turning from their green state in June to their scarlet state by July.
Rowans are often planted as street trees throughout Britain. Their shape (not too tall, but certainly not too broad) makes them suited to this function.
Caterpillars feed on their berries, as do birds once the berries are mature.
Images
Rowan
The Rowan is a small, slender deciduous tree that sports feather-shaped leaves, and creamy white flowers and scarlet berries.
Rowan
The creamy white flowers of Rowan in May.
Rowan
The Rowan's creamy white flowers and pinnate leaves with 5 to 7 pair of oblong leaflets.
