Common whitebeamJon Mortin, CC BY 4.0
Common whitebeam
RowanMark Partington, CC BY 4.0
Rowan
Lookalikes

Common whitebeam or rowan?

Both have white flower heads and red fruit.

The quickest check

The quickest check is the blades on one stalk. Common whitebeam: one undivided oval leaf, to 12 cm. Rowan: feathered into 13 to 15 toothed leaflets. No leaves on the tree? Check the colour and the cluster.

At a glance

Look atCommon whitebeamRowan
Blades on one stalkOne undivided oval leaf, to 12 cmFeathered into 13 to 15 toothed leaflets
Colour and the clusterDull red, in clustersScarlet, dozens in one flat-topped head
Whole treeA narrow dome, flashing white in any breezeSmall and open, light showing through the crown

Three ways to tell them apart

Blades on one stalkLeaves
Common whitebeam: blades on one stalkMarek Hrušovský, CC BY 4.0
Common whitebeamOne undivided oval leaf, to 12 cm
Rowan: blades on one stalk呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), CC BY 4.0
RowanFeathered into 13 to 15 toothed leaflets
Colour and the clusterBerries
Common whitebeam: colour and the clusterScott Shanks, CC BY 4.0
Common whitebeamDull red, in clusters
Rowan: colour and the clusterDavid Ashcroft, CC BY 4.0
RowanScarlet, dozens in one flat-topped head
Whole treeShape
Common whitebeam: whole treeJon Mortin, CC BY 4.0
Common whitebeamA narrow dome, flashing white in any breeze
Rowan: whole treeMark Partington, CC BY 4.0
RowanSmall and open, light showing through the crown
Think you can tell them apart now? Try the tree quiz: real photographs, and what gives each tree away.Take the quiz

The two trees

Common whitebeam

Sorbus aria

Common whitebeam is a narrow-domed tree on stiff, steep branches, with oval, toothed leaves that are white and fuzzy underneath. In any breeze the whole crown flashes white.

How to identify common whitebeam →

Rowan

Sorbus aucuparia

Rowan is a small, open tree with smooth silvery grey bark and feathered leaves of 13 to 15 toothed leaflets. From August it carries flat heads of scarlet berries.

How to identify rowan →

Their other lookalikes

Common whitebeamHawthornCommon whitebeam or hawthorn?Quickest check: the outlineCommon whitebeamHornbeamCommon whitebeam or hornbeam?Quickest check: the trunkCommon whitebeamWhite poplarCommon whitebeam or white poplar?Quickest check: the leaf outlineRowanFalse acaciaRowan or false acacia?Quickest check: the leaflet edgeRowanHawthornRowan or hawthorn?Quickest check: the whole leafRowanHoney locustRowan or honey locust?Quickest check: the leaflet edge
In the app

See them side by side in Treely

  • Both trees, part by partLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed through the year
  • Every lookalike side by sideThe checks that settle it, for every pair people mix up
  • A short round each dayUntil you can tell them apart at a glance
  • The full GuideBoth trees written up in full, with where to find them
App StoreGoogle Play

Free to download.

Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.

Photographs: Jon Mortin (CC BY 4.0), Mark Partington (CC BY 4.0), Marek Hrušovský (CC BY 4.0), 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi) (CC BY 4.0), Scott Shanks (CC BY 4.0), David Ashcroft (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.