Skip to main content

2015 – Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) at Sandfell in Öræfi, S-Iceland

Með 19. júlí, 2022ágúst 9th, 2022English

The Tree of the Year 2015 is a rowan tree standing at the site of the farm Sandfell in Öræfi. It is the first rowan to be nominated. Rowan is one of the three tree species native to Iceland and has long been a popular garden tree. The rowan tree at Sandfell was planted in 1923 by the sister-in-law of the farmer at Sandfell, who got it sent from a friend of hers in Egilsstaðir. The farm has been abandoned since 1947 and the farmhouse was torn down in 1974, so the rowan tree is a living remnant of past times. The tree stands by itself, surrounded by grassland and framed by gray mountain slopes in the background, making it a well know landmark in the area. The rowan splits into seven trunks, with a trunk circumference (as measured at the nomination ceremony) between 90-150 cm. The height turned about to be 11,98 m.

Location on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/ScvAeszCDXeDsrgYA

An article (in Icelandic) from Skógræktarritið – The Journal of the Icelandic Forestry Association about the tree (here).