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 tannin, and vitamin C. The seeds contain glycoside. "Sorbus aucuparia" has a chromosome number of 2"n"=34. "Sorbus aucuparia" is found in five subspecies: It can be found in almost all of Europe and the Caucasus up to Northern Russia and Siberia, but it is not native to Southern Spain, Southern Greece, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands, the Azores, and the Faroe Islands. The species was introduced as an ornamental species in North America. It is widespread from plains to mountains up to the tree line where it grows as the only deciduous tree species among krummholz. In the Alps it grows