Sorbus vilmorinii (mountain slopes, roadsides, mixed forests along river banks, grasslands, bamboo thickets). "Sorbus vilmorinii" was described based on a specimen in cultivation that was an apomictic microspecies. However, almost indistinguishable specimens are diploid and frequent in the wild. Also hybrids are common in the wild. In cultivation, this plant provides a long season of interest as an elegant, compact tree which can be grown in smaller gardens. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Like all rowans the fruit can be cooked and used to make bitter jellies or marmalades. Sorbus vilmorinii Sorbus vilmorinii, the Vilmorin's rowan
Sorbus aucuparia damp, acidic, low on nutrients, sandy, and loose. It often grows in stony soil or clay soil, but also sandy soil or wet peat. The plant grows best on fresh, loose, and fertile soil, prefers average humidity, and does not tolerate saline soil or waterlogging. It can be found in light woodland of all kinds and as a pioneer species over fallen dead trees or in clearcuttings, and at the edge of forests or at the sides of roads. Seeds of "S. aucuparia" germinate easily, so the plant may appear on inaccessible rock, ruins, branch forks, or on hollow trees.