Plants grown in northern gardens: Rowan

Many species of rowans are native to the Northern Hemisphere. One species called Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) is the native Rowan in Iceland. Rowan is often found in Icelandic birch forests, sometimes growing tall above the birch shrubs. The bright red berries and yellowish and pale-green autumn coloured and feather-shaped leaves are a joy to people visiting Reykjavik’s botanical and residential gardens. Rowan is among the most popular cultivated species of trees in gardens in Reykjavik, as well as subarctic Akureyri and smaller towns across the country. Among other Rowan species that can be cultivated in Iceland and elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere are Showy Mountain-Ash (Sorbus decora), Finnish Whitebeam (Sorbus hybrida) and Swedish Whitebeam (Sorbus intermedia).