Rowan berries, but a true 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 larvae of some Lepidoptera species; see Lepidoptera that feed on "Sorbus". 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 mountains in southern Europe and southwest Asia. Its berries are a favourite food for many birds and are a traditional wild-collected food in Britain and Scandinavia. It is one of the hardiest
Sorbus aucuparia birds and are thus propagated by being passed intact in their droppings. The fruit are eaten by about 60 bird species and several mammals. They are liked particularly by thrushes and other songbirds, and are also eaten by cloven-hoofed game, red fox, European badger, dormouse, and squirrel. Fruit of "S. aucuparia" are used as a food source by migratory birds in winter, including Bohemian waxwing, spotted nutcracker, and redwing. Cloven-hoofed game also excessively browse foliage and bark. The plant roots can be found in symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal and less commonly with ectomycorrhizal fungi. It is usually later superseded by