Rowan Close

The Rowan tree (sorbus aucuparia), after which Rowan Close takes its name like the other tree tagged streets in this part of Plympton, is native to this country, and it shares an alternative name, the mountain ash, with different trees of foreign origin, such as the American sorbus americana and the Australian eucalyptus regnans. This nickname reflects the fact that rowans can grow higher up mountain-sides than any other native tree, often clinging to a rock-face, its seeds having been deposited up the mountain by a bird.

The name rowan, however, has its origins in the Norse word runa, meaning ‘a charm’, for it has long been associated with witchcraft. Trees were often planted in churchyards and outside houses to ward off witches. On May Day, a spray of rowan leaves would be hung over the door to repel witches.

The rowan’s red berries are traditionally made into a jelly to be eaten with game and, as a rich source of Vitamin C, they were once used to prevent scurvy. The strong flexible wood the tree provides was also once used for long-bows, as a substitute for yew.

EH 03 February 2007