Sorbus aucuparia Sorbus aucuparia Sorbus aucuparia, commonly called rowan and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. It is a highly variable species, and botanists have used different definitions of the species to include or exclude trees native to certain areas; a recent definition includes trees native to most of Europe and parts of Asia, as well as northern Africa. The range extends from Madeira and Iceland to Russia and northern China. Unlike many plants with similar distributions, it is not native to Japan. "S. aucuparia" has a slender trunk with smooth bark, a loose and
Sorbus not closely related to the true ash trees which belong to the genus "Fraxinus", although the leaves are superficially similar. As treated in its broad sense, the genus is divided into two main and three or four small subgenera (with more recent generic assignments in parentheses): "Sorbus" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some moth species—see list of Lepidoptera that feed on "Sorbus". "Sorbus domestica" is used to flavour some apple wines, see "Apfelwein. "Sorbus" species are cultivated as ornamental trees for parks and gardens, and have given rise to several cultivars. The following, of mixed