Thursday 1 September 2011

Rowan Tree


I have always admired the rowan tree. As a child, I was  told that it "keeps witches away" which I found very reassuring during a period when I was scared of witches. (Wisely my grandmother also told me that the beautiful scarlet berries are poison, perhaps to stop me eating them to make myself witch-proof.)   

I have a little book called "Rowan, Tree of Protection" by ethnobotanist Chris Howkins, which delves into the extensive mythology associated with this little tree. In his book, Mr. Howkins points out that the celtic name for the rowan is "fid na ndruad" which means "Tree of the Wizard" (or, surely, "Druid"?)  So its reputation for magic goes back a whole lot further than my grandmother!.

Mr. Howkins has also traced the fact that old English names for the tree often contain the word "quick" which is an old word for "alive" - he quotes "Quickenberry," "Quickbeam" and so on.  (He also points out that the common hawthorn is also known as the Quickthorn, something I'd known, but forgotten. Interesting.)

I won't quote Mr. Howkins' book at you - although full of good things, it is not expensive, so if you are interested, click the contact link to find out about it and its author. 

But I should say that this particular photo in fact shows two trees.   The rowan berries with the distinctive rowan leaves are in the foreground. Behind this is a trunk of silver birch.   The birch is associated with birth and renewal, and both trees, although usually seen in gardens and parks, can also be found growing wild on poor acid soil, like this heathland near Westleton, Suffolk.

And, not only do they offer protection from passing witches, and encourage renewal, but I think they look very attractive together.


24 comments:

  1. We have your Rowan trees growing all over in Helsinki, I think they are called Pihlaja, in Finnish.
    In my part of The States I knew them also as Hawthorn.
    I love that they keep witches away. I have one in particular I would like to keep away from my door in Helsinki. Maybe I should plant one... or 5 :)

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  2. this was some lovely and interesting information! i think we have those in Norway too.

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  3. What an interesting and pretty tree. Enjoyed learning about it.

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  4. Some interesting facts Jenny. I was intrigued by what I thought was the Rowan Tree's trunk, until I read that it's actually a Birch Tree trunk next to it. They do go well together.

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  5. Great post! And what a stunning tree! I've always been fascinated by folk lore of that sort and for some reason, it enriches the tree's beauty even more (in my mind, at any rate). Lovely pic.

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  6. That is a beautiful photo. I'd not heard of the rowan tree, since it does not grow but in a small part of the US, the northeast part, where I've never visited. Thank you for a bit of history!

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  7. Beauty in the image and interesting info in the post, thank you!

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  8. I agree-they are very lovely together...that contrast of red and birch-silver..gorgeous!
    Great photo!

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  9. This is the time of year for rowan berries of course. Sadly, mine are almost all gone, there weren't many to start with.
    Shropshire has been very dry this year which can't have helped.

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  10. i was wondering about these. don't think we really have them in the US.

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  11. I'm from Russia and now live in Finland, and I met rowan in both countries. We're pretty far away from each other and yet we have many plants in common :-)

    In childhood I once made a 'necklace' from rowan berries. Since I used fresh berries, fingers soon became dirty but when the necklace withered it became a real forest jewel :-)

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  12. That is one Fabulous photo.....

    cheers, parsnip

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  13. Thanks for sharing the info on the tree. I do so love the vivid red. :)

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  14. Thank you for letting me learn some interesting facts - I love finding out such details about the world around me.
    And the colours are just so beautiful in that combination.

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  15. Well that's all the folklore I knew about trees in one blog post....

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  16. A beautiful tree! I's love to plant one on our farm.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  17. Hi, Jenny Woolf,
    Long time no see. This interests me very much. I considered if we have "Tree of Protection" in Japan. Nothing but a holly popped up in my mind. In my garden, holly trees are planted in northeast and southwest which are considered bad directions where evil spirits will come from. This belief is based on Chinese culture. But, I don’t believe this; just we followed a gardener’s advice. The red is the protection color for us too.
    To find a similarity in different culture fires my imagination!!

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  18. Hi JW. Your comment on my post brought me here and I'll be back. All your posts are really interesting. I particularly liked this one which solved a mystery for me. I've got right through my life to this point without being able to recognise a rowan. In fact I saw one recently and wondered what it was. I'll never have to wonder again.

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  19. Interesting post! We have rowan trees here as well and called "nanakamado", its literal meaning is "seven furnace or kiln".One etymology says they are so hard to burn that you have to burn them seven times in the kiln. I hear some place they are used as a good-luck charm for fire prevention. Those red berries and colored leaves in fall are so lovely.
    I love birch trees too.

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  20. I followed you here from your comment at "Hen's Teeth." Lovely blog - and I'm happy to finally know what a Rowan Tree is -- I don't know if we have them in the States, but I have certainly read many a reference to them over the years.

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  21. Oh, I've heard so much about the rowan tree in celtic lore and wiccan literature. I never knew what it looked like. Those red berries certainly look good enough to eat!

    Separately, I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading your book on Lewis Carroll. I had known he was an Oxford don in mathematics but discovered so much more through your research. I had no idea he was into photography nor had a clerical background. Overall, the picture you painted was of a person I would dearly have loved to meet and enjoy puzzles, rhymes and long walks with.

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  22. Beautiful berries and interesting tales about Rowan.

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  23. Many people like rowan tree for its pristine white flowers in spring and for red berries and colored leaves in autumn. In your photo, the red berries, the white bark, and the green leaves and fern create a wondrous world. I like it. I’ve gotten more knowledgeable about rowan tree here. Thank you, Jenny.

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  24. We had a rowan in our garden when I was growing up. The tree was always inspiring to me, the mythology is intriguing, I agree, and your image is sumptuous!

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