Rowan – Puuproffa

Rowan was a sacred tree for ancient finnish people. They were afraid that cutting a rowan down would bring bad luck.

Distribution

Rowan has spread all over Europe, and it is a common plant in Asia as well.
It is a common species throughout Finland. It grows all the way to the tree line in the north.
Sorbus hybrida and Sorbus intermedia grow in Finland, too. They can be found in the Southwestern part of the country.

Habitat

Rowan thrives in rich soils that are either dry or moist, for example grassy woodlands, peaty forests with heavy moss and lichen cover, hardwood swamps, shores and cliffs.
It requires a lot of daylight.
On a favorable habitat a young rowan is fast-growing, but as it gets older the growth slows down.
Rowan has an extensive root system, which grows shoots easily. Thanks to its root system rowan withstands storms.

Growth characteristics

Rowan may grow as much as 20 meters high.
Rowans can have straight trunks and branchless stems if they are grown in a grove dense enough
Rowan saplings grow fast at the beginning, but the trees often remain small-sized.
Large rowans with a single trunk can be found in the best habitats, but they are rare.
Rowan grows limbs easily, and therefore it often grows as a bush formed by several thin trunks.
Due to its durability, foliage, flowers and berries, rowan has been a popular tree alongside park avenues.
Rowans hybridize easily, which is why there are a lot of different hybrids.
Rowan withstands delimbing, which makes it suitable wood for sawn timber.

Properties of the wood

Rowan wood is divided into light reddish or yellowish cambium and the grey- brown heartwood.
The annual rings are clearly distinguishable and the wood is beautifully patterned lengthwise. Flame patterned rowan wood is also wanted raw material.
Rowan wood has dense surface and it is somewhat scentless.
The wood is quite hard, tough and flexible. During the drying process it does not warp nor crack. The weight of air-dry sawn timber is 650 kg/m3.
Due to its charateristics it is excellently suitable for furniture wood.
It easy to work, lathe and surface finish.

A-class rowan is free of knots and even in colour. The amount of heartwood should be at least 70%, and it should not contain rot. This wood is used as raw material in the carpentry industry.
B- and C-class wood can have knots and variation in colour. C-class wood may also have rot and cracks.

Surface treatment

The wood samples have been surface treated as such:

Radial cut

Tangential cut

Usage

The appreciation of rowan for carpentry is rising.
It is used in the carpentry industry to make furniture, decorativ items and utility articles.
Traditionally rowan has been used in carvings, for example the rake teeth.
In the making of large sized furniture, it is on average not easy to acquire enough evenly coloured heartwood.