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 aucuparia be applied to other species in "Sorbus" subgenus "Sorbus", and mountain ash may be used for several other distantly related trees. The species is unrelated to the true ash trees (genus "Fraxinus"), which also carry pinnate leaves or the species "Eucalyptus regnans", also called mountain ash, native to Tasmania and Victoria in southeastern Australia. "S. aucuparia" was previously categorized as "Pyrus aucuparia". The author citation "Sorbus aucuparia" L. belongs to Carl Linnaeus. "Sorbus aucuparia" occurs as a tree or shrub that grows up to between 5 and 15 m in height. The crown is loose and roundish or irregularly shaped