The red berries and fragrant white flowers of the rowan make it a sanctuary for wildlife, one reason why it’s been chosen as part of the Woodland Trust’s campaign to plant 64 million trees in the UK.
When choosing a tree, you need to look into the future, to understand how fast it grows, how tall it will become, how much shade it creates and what delights it will offer from season to season. When planning its campaign to encourage people to plant more trees in the UK, the Woodland Trust considered which native tree would suit the smaller garden and survive from north to south. It chose a species that is sometimes overlooked, yet is a vital part of the landscape we should be protecting. It settled on the rowan.
The rowan has been part of the British countryside for centuries, where it has guided travellers and warded off dark magic, according to folklore. Knowing the tree’s other name – mountain ash – it’s little surprise that it flourishes in high altitudes and can survive for 200 years. Height-wise, the tree will reach just 15 metres, something that has prevented it being the first choice for timber forests. It has a smooth grey bark, is fast growing and is frost resistant.
A rowan sapling won’t mind a bit of shade, but it doesn’t like waterlogged ground. Plant it about two inches above the rootstock and, when returning the soil to the hole, gently compact it, to prevent frostbite reaching the roots. You may want to provide a stake for support and wrap a protective tree spiral around the sapling, if there is a risk of wild animals biting or tearing its bark.
Blood and feathers
Prior to sprouting, the buds on the maturing tree are purple, with fine hairs. The tree develops a conical shape, with feather-like, pinnate leaves made up of five to eight pairs of serrated leaflets. These are green above and blue-green beneath. Creamy white flowers follow between May and June, and attract pollinating insects with their sweet aroma.
The flowers turn to red berries in autumn, while the leaves are still on the trees. While the berries are fine food for blackbirds and bullfinches, they are poisonous to humans when eaten raw. Cooked, however, they can produce a bitter jelly, rich in vitamin C, or are used to flavour ale and mead. The tempting berries were once used as bait by French and German bird-catchers. Crushed, fermented and mixed with oil, the berries also formed a type of bird-catching glue known as birdlime. Rowan branches form sturdy walking canes and tool handles. In Finland, the pliable wood is chosen for sleigh shafts and rake spikes.
The rowan’s old Celtic name, ‘fid na ndruad’ means ‘wizard’s tree’. In folklore, the rowan’s berries were associated with magic – red being the best colour to fight against the evil brought by witches. Turn over a rowan berry and you will see a ‘protective pentagram’ on its base. The berries were worn as charms in Scotland, where cutting down a rowan was considered taboo. As a ‘wayfarer’s tree’, the rowan was said to prevent pilgrims from losing their way, while druids saw the tree as a portal between worlds.
A Greek legend tells of a rowan sprouting from the blood and feathers lost by Zeus’ eagle in a battle against demons. The eagle’s blood became the tree’s ruby berries, the feathers its leaves. In Norse myth, woman was born of the rowan, while man came from the ash.
From a slender sapling, a fine tree with magical associations and beauty for all seasons will emerge. For certain, the rowan makes an enchanting addition to any garden.
Half of all our ancient woodland has been lost or damaged in the last 70 years. The Woodland Trust is leading a campaign to plant 64 million new native trees – one for every person in the UK – in the next 10 years. And right now the Trust are offering every new member a free rowan tree sapling (for a limited time only and while stocks last. One rowan sapling per each adult membership). Join now at http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/treeoffer
