**133/K-Tree Talk-Rowan.

This  tree is more commonly known in England as the mountain ash, presumably because its leaves are compound ( pinnate shape ) like those of the ash.  The rowan, however  does not resemble the ash in any other way, nor is it related to the ash , but is one of the apple family.  It is called  in some parts as  the “quickbeam” or “fowler’s  service tree”.  The last name has reference to the fact that bird snarers used to bait their traps with its bright red berries. The  tree was traditionally believed to be a powerful charm against witchcraft, & small bunches  of the twigs used to be nailed up outside cattle sheds to keep   the beasts from harm.  It is a small tree which flourishes on hill- sides & poor  soils,   The bark is quite smooth & a light grey in colour. It produces large number of clusters of small white flowers in the spring.  Often as many as  two hundred in   cluster & are succeeded  by red berries  which are a favourite food of the birds.  The tree is still beautiful in the autumn, when the foliage turns reddish gold. In days gone by, the flexible branches were used to make bows , &  were almost as good as the yew branches for this purpose.