ABOUT THIS BOOK

A cultural history of a reddish, much-loved shrub, sometimes called mountain ash or dogberry.

Rowan is the first in-depth natural and cultural history of this much-loved plant sometimes called mountain ash or dogberry. Through myth, medicine, literature, land art, and contemporary rewilding, Oliver Southall uncovers the many meanings of this singular reddish, fruit shrub: a potent symbol of nostalgia on the one hand and of environmental activism on the other. Taking the reader on an eclectic journey across history, Rowan charts our changing relationships with nature and landscape, raising urgent questions about how we value and relate to the non-human world.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Oliver Southall is a poet living in West Sussex, UK. He is the author of Borage Blue.

REVIEWS

"A gorgeous celebration of one of my most beloved trees – Ollie Southall has done the gracious, generous, sustaining and protecting rowan beautiful justice in this gem of a book."

— Amy-Jane Beer, author of 'A Tree A Day'

"A remarkable account of the rowan’s essential presence in our lives, from folklore to film, as well as in the long natural history of our planet. The tree bears its rich cultural heritage as cheerfully as its bright red berries: this beautifully illustrated book is a celebration and a revelation."

— Fiona Stafford, author of 'The Long, Long Life of Trees'

"The illustrations are a joy for art historians and bibliophiles as well as botanists . . . There is of course plenty of sound botanical and ecological comment, but the way the author has embedded this in such a rich, cultural context and imaginatively chosen illustrations is very appealing. Forget mistletoe for a year and get (or give) Rowan this Christmas!"

— Wild Flower Magazine

"A beautifully bound and presented little volume that is a pleasure to handle, and even the prints inside the covers are worthy of a pause to admire the swirls of flowers and butterflies. The pages are luxuriously thick and glossy, showing off the glorious photographs and illustrations within . . . the well-researched prose and outstanding pictures will be a delight to all readers of a more cultural inclination."

— Scottish Forestry

"As the monograph wends from Ireland to Russia, across folk traditions and elite artistic movements, it is unlikely that one reader would be familiar with every period or region touched on in the book. For this reason, the clarity of each chapter’s thesis and arguments is particularly welcome. The extensive and high-quality illustrations are also a delight. . . . Having brought to light the value of one remarkable species to bards, cunning women, artists, and poets, the work is successful at enriching one’s perception of both the natural world and human cultures."

— H-Environment

"Southall states in the Introduction (“Thresholds of Nature and Culture”) that “this is a book about the ‘mythology’ of rowan in the expanded sense” (p. 30). The unfolding of his narrative takes readers on many adventures beginning with druidical sagas and continuing with stories from Irish and Scandinavian folklore previously unknown to this reader."

— Plant Science Bulletin

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

Introduction Thresholds of Nature and Culture

One: Old Gods, New Myths

Two: Magic and Medicine

Three: Arts of Nationhood

Four: Romantic Ecologies

Five: Other Russias

Six: Uprootings

Conclusion Where One Tree Survives

Timeline

References