''Sorbus esserteauana'', commonly known as Esserteau's rowan, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

. It is a small tree, typically tall growing in mountain thickets and cliffs. It is an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

species to China, being only found in western

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

. It has small white flowers and small red berries that are actually a

pome In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Well-known pomes include the apple, pear, and quince. Etymology The word ''pome'' entered English in the late 14th century, and re ...

fruit. Unlike all other species of ''Sorbus'', the fruit are hard and inedible to humans, but they are eaten by birds that scatter the seeds. It is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

in gardens and parks for its decorative fruit and because it attracts birds. When published the epithet was written as "esserteauiana". However, according to ICBN (Vienna Code) Art. 60.11 and 60C.1(c), the connecting vowel ''-i-'' in it is unnecessary and thus must be deleted.

References

esserteauana Trees of China Endemic flora of China {{sorbus-stub