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
Forests of the Iberian Peninsula form small enclaves or copses at the foot of rocky cliff edges or in the clearings of beech forests, on poor or acidic soils, accompanied by aspen ("Populus tremula") and mountain ash ("Sorbus aucuparia"). Birch may also grow in pure stands near the beech forests, in the mountainous areas on siliceous bedrock; these areas are typically of only small extent and generally quite patchy with sessile oak ("Quercus petraea") and trees of the genus "Sorbus". The silver fir ("Abies alba") is found on the cool, deep-soiled slopes of the flanks of the Pyrenees, from Navarre to Montseny, forming pure fir