Rowan is attested from the 1520s in the sense "fruit of the service tree", adopted via French "sorbe" from Latin "sorbum" "service-berry". "Sorbus domestica" is also known as "whitty pear", the adjective whitty meaning "pinnate". The name "mountain-ash" for "Sorbus domestica" is due to a superficial similarity of the rowan leaves to those of the ash, not to be confused in "Fraxinus ornus", a true ash that is also known as "mountain ash". "Sorbus torminalis" is also known as "chequer tree"; its fruits, formerly used to flavour beer, are called "chequers", perhaps from the spotted pattern of the fruit. The name
Sorbus reducta Sorbus reducta Sorbus reducta (铺地花楸), the dwarf Chinese mountain ash, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to western China (South West Sichuan and North West Yunnan}. Growing to tall by wide, it is a dense deciduous spreading shrub. Each leaf, long, has up to 15 leaflets which turn to brilliant shades of red in the autumn (fall). White flowers in spring are followed by red or pink, and then white berries in autumn. The Latin specific epithet "reducta" means "dwarf", referring to its compact habit. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of