Nature notes
The hardy warrior of high places
Of all the native trees in Britain, there is no other more like us mountain people than the rowan. Its other name – mountain ash – gives away the fact that it grows happily higher up the mountainside than any other native tree. It loves a crag or steep rock face, where sheep and deer find it hard to snack on its leaves.
The rowan has long been associated with warding off evil, and as a result many superstitions about them exist, even to this day. There are areas of Scotland where a rowan growing near a house will be left in peace, it being taboo to remove it. On the Isle of Man, May Day sees crosses made from rowan twigs put above doorways, stables and cattle pens. And wells used to be dressed with boughs of rowan, all to keep away that red-horned devil.
The name rowan is thought to derive from the Norse word ‘runa’ meaning charm, this hinting at its associations with witchcraft. As for the tree itself, it’s a small to medium-sized plant, rising to 20-25m in height if conditions allow. This will rarely be the case in the mountains, where the higher up the mountain you go the smaller the tree and the slower the growth rate. It loves the acid soils you get in the peaty regions of our uplands. Its bark is a pale grey colour and within it are horizontal cracks or, to use the correct term, lenticels. There are only a few trees in Britain that have this style of bark, cherry and birch being examples. The leaves are a little smaller than common ash and have saw-like edges. In May to June, rowans will flower, producing a display of creamywhite clusters of blossom. Autumn sees the distinctive red/orange berries form, visible from a great distance. These are a favourite with birds, particularly the newly arrived winter thrushes – field fares and redwings. Autumn also finds the leaves undergoing an intense colour change, turning a fiery red which darkens to the tips. Unfortunately it doesn’t last long and they seem to drop almost as soon as they turn. Or maybe it’s more to do with being exposed to mountain winds? As mentioned, they are happy high up in the mountains amongst crags, and love a mountain stream, where I should think the flow helps to spread the seeds hidden within the berries as they drop into the fast flowing water.
Witch Wiggin, to use one of the rowan’s other ‘lost’ names, produces wood that is both strong and flexible. Apparently grey-yellow in colour, it had many uses, some of which were related to its magical properties. In the Lake District it was used to make implements to stir cream, keeping the devil away and stopping him turning it sour. It’s been used for water divining rods and making charms that ward off rheumatism. Just don’t use any branches from a rowan growing near your house…
There aren’t many native trees in our uplands (although we are lucky to be seeing an increase in tree planting – the next few generations will experience the mountains in a different way to us), so keep your eyes peeled for this hardy warrior. Have lunch, sat under a rowan’s light and airy canopy. Collect some berries in the autumn, and along with some crab apples make a jelly that goes particularly well with game. And next May Day, let’s all mount a sprig of rowan above our front doors to see if we can’t banish the devil that’s been hounding us all this past year…
Tom Bailey is an outdoor writer, nature expert and long-serving Trail magazine photographer.
THIS HARDY WARRIOR GROWS HAPPILY HIGHER UP THE MOUNTAIN THAN ANY OTHER NATIVE TREE