rowan VS mountain ash

Question

Hi,I wonder if these words are equally common in modern English? (I checked a few dictionaries before posting this...looks like 'rowan' and 'mountain ash' refer to the same kind of tree...)Thank you!mus-te

Clive · Accepted Answer

I only hear and say 'Mountain Ash'.

Rover_KE · Answer

I say mountain ash but know that it's also called rowan (or at least one species of the tree is so-called).

Rover

MUSCOVITE · Answer

Thank you, Clive!
Thank you, Rover!

I'd like to ask you a few follow-up questions if I may.
(1) What are the "top-three-most-common" deciduous trees in your country (or, to "narrow down" my query, in your county/ province, or even just in your local area)?
(Well, let me explain what I am asking about ....for my country, for example, one of the post popular answers would probably look like this: (1) birch tree ... and the second and third positions could be any tree from the following list: oak - lime tree (or linden?) - mountain ash, aspen, poplar)
(2) As is known, a tree can be a country's symbol, e.g., sakura for the Japanese, or birch tree for the [European] Russians. What about your counties? I guess you can give more examples of this kind?

I hope you have had great Christmassy weather these days ... so the red berries should look really fascinating on the mountain ashes covered in snow

Moinkent · Answer

Hi Muscovite
This is an interesting question. For England (south-east), I would say the most common deciduous trees are the oak, the beech and the horse chestnut.
The oak tree is a symbol for England and there is a famous song (written in 1759) as our navy's ships were made of oak.
It goes like this:
Heart of oak are our ships,
Heart of oak are our men:
We always are ready;
Steady, boys, steady;
We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.

MUSCOVITE · Answer

Hi Mo!
Happy New Year!

Thanks for the very interesting answer. (In fact, it is more than just interesting...it is so elegant and poetic! )

So oak is a symbol for England.
Perhaps, you can also help me complete the following table?

	Flowers/plants	Trees
English	red rose	oak
Irish	three-leaved shamrock	???
Scottish	thistle	???
Welsh	leek; daffodil	???

(If there are any inaccuracies in the table, please correct them, ok? Also, please note that I am not asking about their OFFICIAL emblems, rather I am asking about the trees that are generally accepted as most typical/common/characteristic/most frequently referred to in poetry, etc.)

mus-te

CalifJim · Answer

MUSCOVITEWhat are the "top-three-most-common" deciduous trees ... local area

Where I grew up (northern mid-west US), it was maple, oak, and birch — fewer poplar, aspen, mountain ash, or elm. Of fruit trees, apple and cherry are most common there. (Never heard of 'rowan'.)

CJ

MUSCOVITE · Answer

Thanks for your input, CalifJim!
I too should have mentioned maple as one of the most common deciduous trees in my area... For most of my fellow countrymen maple is the czar of autumnal forests in Central Russia: it is no doubt the most "picturesque" tree of all (in the fall at least)

CalifJimNever heard of 'rowan'.

The pair "rowan/mountain ash" is NOT the only one that I have had problems with...
I have similar problems with "lime tree"/"linden". If you could also comment on this pair?

mus-te

CalifJim · Answer

MUSCOVITE... maple is the czar of autumnal forests in Central Russia

The czar, no less! Do I detect the heart of a loyalist — even after a century?

MUSCOVITEI have similar problems with "lime tree"/"linden". If you could also comment on this pair?

I draw a total blank on both of those. I think you're referring to a lime tree that is not the citrus fruit tree. And I have only a vague association in my mind between "linden" and Berlin, Germany. I've never lived anywhere where these trees grew, and in spite of knowing a few tree names, I am really quite "botanically challenged"!

CJ

MUSCOVITE · Answer

Hi CalifJim!

CalifJimThe czar, no less! Do I detect the heart of a loyalist — even after a century?

Oh yes! In our country we all (monarchists, anarchists, orthodox commies, etc.) LOVE this word - TSAR

As you probably know we have the Tsar cannon and Tsar bell in the Moscow Kremlin.
Fair enough, we call LION the tsar of animals and STURGEON - the Tsar Fish.
We really like lofty titles and names :-)

To tell you the truth, I did not expect that "lime tree"/"linden tree" (Tilia in Lat.) might be so "uncommon"/"rare" in California and other "sunny" US states ... I assume you like honey? Even if you don't, please take a look at this interesting "honey link":
http://www.honeytraveler.com/single-flower-honey/linden-lime-basswood-honey/
This answers most of my "lime/linden" questions :-)

Thanks again!
and Happy New Year!

Moinkent · Answer

Hi again Muscovite
As far as Scotland is concerned, the most typical tree is the Scots pine, but this is not deciduous.
I cannot comment about Ireland, but I was interested to learn that there are fewer native tree species in Ireland than in Great Britain (the main island). This is a very interesting site about trees in Ireland:

http://www.nativewoodlandtrust.ie/en/learn/irish-trees

With regard to your question about lime tree/linden, in the UK this tree species is commonly known as the lime tree.

Best wishes
Mo

rowan VS mountain ash

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