Rowan tree (Sorbus aucuparia) is one of the sacred trees (...) A piece of rowan was often sawn into the clothing of children to protect them from capture by evil fairies (...) In Scandinavian myths the first woman was formed from the rowan and the first man from alder. The red berries of the rowan were considered sacred by most cultures and are symbolic of the forces of creation - blood, life, death and renewal. The rowan blossoms in May and is still in fruit by Lughnasadh in August.
The old peoples of Ireland believed that the rowan possessed the power to restore lost youth and was guarded by serpents and dragons. They also associated the rowan with Brigid and Brigantia whose arrows were made from rowan wood. In Aegean/Mediterranean myths the rowan is connected to a tale about the drinking cup of Zeus, which was stolen from Olympus. An eagle was sent to recover the cup and a battle raged with the creatures that stole it. The legend has it that wherever a drop of blood or feather fell during the battle, a rowan tree subsequently sprouted. The red berries of the rowan tree are therefore symbolically associated with droplets of blood (...)

Extracted From the Wikipedia:

The rowans are plants of the Family Rosaceae, in the Genus Sorbus, Subgenus Sorbus. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western China and the Himalaya, where numerous apomictic microspecies occur. Rowans are mostly small deciduous trees 10-20 m tall, though a few are shrubs. The leaves are arranged alternately, and are pinnate, with 11-35 leaflets. The flowers are borne in dense corymbs; each flower is creamy white, and 5-10 mm across with five petals.The fruit is a small pome 4-8 mm diameter, bright orange or red in most species, but pink, yellow or white in some Asian species. The fruit are soft and juicy, which makes them a very good food for birds, particularly waxwings and thrushes, which then distribute the rowan seeds in their droppings. Rowan is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species - see list of Lepidoptera which feed on Sorbus.

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