Each leaf is made of 13 to 15 toothed leaflets, in pairs with one at the tip. Each whole leaf joins the twig on its own, never in facing pairs.
Native · Up to 20 m
Rowan
Sorbus aucuparia · Rosaceae
Also called mountain ash
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.
Often mistaken for hawthorn. How to tell them apart →Know it by
Leaves13 to 15 leaflets to a long, feathered leaf.
BerriesWhite flowers, then dozens of scarlet berries to a head.
BarkSmooth and grey, with short dark dashes across it.
Leaves13 to 15 leaflets to a long, feathered leaf.BerriesWhite flowers, then dozens of scarlet berries to a head.BarkSmooth and grey, with short dark dashes across it.Then check · TwigsIn winter, dark purple buds with grey hairs, one at a time up the shoot. Ash buds are black and set in pairs.
How to identify a rowan
In late spring, big heads of white flowers open among the feathered leaves. From August they're followed by scarlet berries, dozens to a head.
The bark is smooth and grey, crossed by short dark dashes. Pale patches on the trunk are usually lichen, not the bark.
Learn the rowan in TreelyEvery part through the year, and a short round each day until you know it.Get Treely
Every part, in photographs
呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), CC BY 4.0
David Ashcroft, CC BY 4.0
anguspritchard, CC BY 4.0
anguspritchard, CC BY 4.0
Mark Partington, CC BY 4.0When to look
JFMAMJJASOND
In leaf
Flowers
Berries
In leaf: April to November · Flowers: April to June · Berries: July to January
Every tree on the calendar · How to identify trees in winter
Where you’ll find it
Upland woodland, moorland edge, rocky hillsides, heath and clearings in birch and oak woods, often the only tree on a crag. Abundant on light, acid soils, above all in Highland Scotland, and planted everywhere in streets, parks and gardens.
What it’s mistaken for
Rowan or hawthorn?Both have flat white flower heads in May and red fruit in autumn, and from a distance they look alike.Whole leaf→
Rowan or common whitebeam?Both are small trees with much the same white flower heads and red fruit.Blades on one stalk→
Rowan or false acacia?Another feathered leaf, on a tree of streets and gardens.Leaflet edge→
Rowan or honey locust?Another planted tree with feathered leaves.Trunk→
- Common ashBoth have feathered leaves. Leaf. Rowan: set singly, one after another along the shoot. Common ash: in facing pairs, another leaf directly opposite.
- ElderBoth have feathered leaves and flat white flower heads. Leaf. Rowan: 13 to 15, sometimes more. Elder: five or seven.
- WalnutAnother feathered leaf set singly along the twig. Leaf. Rowan: 13 to 15, sometimes more. Walnut: 5 to 9, most often 7.
- Tree of heavenFeathered leaves set singly on both. Leaf. Rowan: leaf 12 to 25 cm long. Tree of heaven: leaf 40 to 60 cm long.
In the app
There’s more of the rowan in Treely
- Every part, through the yearLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed in every season
- Its lookalikes, side by sideThe checks that settle it, part by part
- A short round each dayUntil you know the rowan on sight, from any side
- Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely tells you which tree
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: Mark Partington (CC BY 4.0), Joss Carr (CC BY 4.0), Jerry Lanfear (CC BY 4.0), gomes-boga (CC0), 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi) (CC BY 4.0), stevencross3 (CC0), David Ashcroft (CC BY 4.0), anguspritchard (CC BY 4.0), Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), Marek Hrušovský (CC BY 4.0), bobwardell (CC0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.