Rowan Rowan The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus "Sorbus" of the rose 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 apomictic microspecies occur. The name "rowan" was originally applied to the species "Sorbus aucuparia" and is also used for other species in "Sorbus" subgenus "Sorbus". Formerly, when a wider variety of fruits were commonly eaten in Europe and North America, "Sorbus" was a domestically used fruit throughout these regions. It is still used in
Sorbus chamaemespilus in corymbs 3–4 cm diameter. The fruit is an oval red pome 10–13 mm diameter. It is the sole species in a group that has been called genus "Chamaemespilus" or "Sorbus" subgenus "Chamaemespilus", distinguished from other subgenera of "Sorbus" by the pink (not white) flowers with forward-pointing petals (not opening flat). More recently, it has become clear that the simple-leafed species traditionally included in "Sorbus" form a monophyletic group, and this species could be included in a clade called "Aria" (genus "Aria" or "Sorbus" subgenus "Aria"). Sorbus chamaemespilus Sorbus chamaemespilus, the false medlar or dwarf whitebeam, is a species of