Autumn beads5

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2. The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus Sorbus of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya, southern Tibet and parts of western China, where numerous apomictic microspecies occur

3. Formerly, when a wider variety of fruits were commonly eaten in Europe and North America, Sorbus was a domestically used fruit throughout these regions. It is still used in some countries, but Sorbus domestica, for example, has largely vanished from Britain, where it was traditionally appreciated

4. Sorbus cashmiriana Sorbus domestica

9. Rowan was once widely planted by houses as a protection against witches. The colour red was considered to be the best colour for fighting evil, and so the rowan’s bright red berries have been associated with magic and witches. Cutting down a rowan was considered taboo in Scotland

10. Flowers are borne in dense clusters, each one bearing five creamy-white petals

15. The rowans or mountain-ashes (Sorbus aucuparia)

19. The Rowan Tree (Sorbus aucuparia) also known as European Mountain Ash, Witch Tree, or Witch Wood Common Blackbird (Turdus merula)

23. The rowans or mountain-ashes

25. The northern flicker (Colaptes auratus)

28. The rowans or mountain-ashes (Sorbus aucuparia)

30. The Rowan Tree (Sorbus aucuparia) also known as European Mountain Ash, Witch Tree, or Witch Wood

31. Japanese Rowan tree (Sorbus commixta)

32. Flowers provide pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinating insects, while the berries are a rich source of autumn food for birds, especially the blackbird, mistle thrush, redstart, redwing, song thrush, fieldfare and waxwing Cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

33. Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)

35. The traditional names of the rowan are those applied to the species Sorbus aucuparia, Sorbus torminalis (wild service-tree), and Sorbus domestica (true service-tree). English sorb is attested from the 1520s in the sense "fruit of the service tree", adopted via French sorbe from Latin sorbum "service-berry". The name "mountain-ash" for Sorbus domestica is due to a superficial similarity of the rowan leaves to those of the ash, not to be confused with Fraxinus ornus, a true ash that is also known as "mountain ash"

36. The Rowan Tree (Sorbus aucuparia) is commonly found in the wild, particularly in the highlands of Scotland, but it is also widely planted as a street or garden tree

37. The Rowan tree is said to be one of the most protective of all trees, and is first and foremost a protection against negative influences. The Rowan has protected homes for centuries, and many today are delighted to see a Rowan tree (or several) growing nearby houses

40. In the British Isles the rowan has a long and still popular history in folklore as a tree which protects against witchcraft and enchantment. People also believed the colour red was the best protection against magic.

41. The physical characteristics of the tree may have contributed to its protective reputation. Each berry has a tiny five pointed star or pentagram opposite its stalk. The pentagram is an ancient protective symbol

44. Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)

45. The Bohemian waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

46. Rowan tree

49. The classic ‘old wives’ tale’ is the one about rowan berries – if the rowan berries are out in force early, then a hard winter is on the way. A lot of berries on the tree means a harsh winter to come

50. Rowan trees are one of those plants that seem to tick all the boxes, providing flower colour during spring and early summer before they set their berries, then the autumn display can be breathtaking and this is followed by what we are beginning to enjoy at the moment, that is the wonderful winter display of berries