N. Europe and Asia
"Sorbus aucuparia is a stress-tolerant competitor. Nevertheless, its establishment in woodland, and presumably also in skeletal soils, appears to be adversely affected by the presence of grazing stock or game... Sorbus aucuparia has been recorded in association with both arbuscular mycorrhizal and, less commonly, ectomycorrhizal fungi... Seedlings are frequently nipped by deer in USA... In northern Spain, pine martens eat fruits as much as 9.4% of their diet; these fruits are of S. aucuparia, Rubus spp. and Vaccinium myrtillus. Blackbirds are the main dispersers of S. aucuparia fruits in the British Isles, accounting for 78% of the total records... THe tree appears to possess a mechanism of inducible defence against foliar predation by insects." [1]
"Regnell et al. report human use of S. aucuparia during the first settlement phase in southern Sweden, at c. 6650-6400 BP. Leaves are purgative and expectorant. Fruits are laxative, astringent, diuretic and antiscorbutic and antilipoperoxidant." [1]
"In France, Germany, and Austria, fruits are sometimes distilled [into kirsch]. In Poland, the fruits are used to flavour vodka. The strong and close-grained wood is sometimes made into tool handles." [1]
[1] Raspe, O., Findlay, C., & Jacquemart, A. L. (2000). Sorbus aucuparia L. Journal of Ecology, 88(5), 910-930.
