The whitebeams are members of the family

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

, comprising subgenus ''Aria'' (or, according to some authorities, its own genus) of 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, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depe ...

'', and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera ''Sorbus'', ''Torminaria'' and ''Chamaemespilus''. They are

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s with simple or lobed leaves, arranged alternately. They are related to the

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 ...

s (''Sorbus'' subgenus ''Sorbus''), and many of the

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 ...

restricted-range apomictic microspecies of whitebeam in Europe are thought to derive from hybrids between ''S. aria'' and the European rowan ''S. aucuparia''; some are also thought to be hybrids with the

wild service tree ''Sorbus torminalis'', with common names wild service tree, chequers, and checker tree, is a species of tree in the mountain ash or rowan genus (''Sorbus'') of the rose family (Rosaceae), that is native to Europe, parts of northern Africa and we ...

''S. torminalis'', notably the service tree of Fontainebleau ''Sorbus latifolia'' in French woodlands. The best known species is the common whitebeam '' Sorbus aria'', a columnar tree which grows to tall by broad, with clusters of white flowers in spring followed by speckled red berries in autumn (fall).

Appearance

The surface of the leaf is an unremarkable mid-green, but the underside is almost white (hence the name) transforming the appearance of the tree in strong winds, as noted by the poet Meredith: "flashing as in gusts the sudden-lighted whitebeam". It is also described as the "wind-beat whitebeam" in Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem "The Starlight Night".

Ecology

The berries are a favourite of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s, though less palatable (drier, less juicy) than rowan berries. Whitebeams are sometimes used as

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

l food plants by

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species, including the

short-cloaked moth The short-cloaked moth (''Nola cucullatella'') is a moth of the family Nolidae. It is distributed through most of Europe. It was collected in 2008 in the greater Vancouver area of British Columbia (Westham Island). Vancouver is a major shipping po ...

Uses

These trees are often grown in parks and large gardens. The

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

''S. aria'' 'Lutescens' and ''S. aria'' 'Majestica' have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. The tough, hard wood is a deep orange when wet, and pale yellow after drying. The fruit (a pome) is edible and is often made into jelly.

Classification

* section ''Aria'' - ''Sorbus aria'' and its close relatives * section ''Alnifoliae'' - a group of Asian species * section ''Thibeticae'' - a group of species from the Himalayas and southern China * ''Sorbus intermedia'' group (nothosubgenus ''Soraria'') - taxa of hybrid origin involving sections ''Aria'' and ''Sorbus'' * ''Sorbus latifolia'' group (nothosubgenus ''Tormaria'') - taxa of hybrid origin involving sections ''Aria'' and ''Torminaria''

Selected species

''Sorbus'' subgenus ''Aria'' *''

Sorbus admonitor ''Karpatiosorbus admonitor'', previously classified as ''Sorbus admonitor'' and also called the no parking whitebeam, is a species of whitebeam tree found in Devon, United Kingdom. It is known only from the Watersmeet Valley at Lynton, with two ...

'' - No parking whitebeam *''

Sorbus alnifolia ''Alniaria alnifolia'' (syns. ''Sorbus alnifolia'' and ''Aria alnifolia''), also called alder-leafed whitebeam, Korean whitebeam, or Korean mountain ash, , is a species of whitebeam native to eastern Asia in eastern and northern China, Taiwan, Ko ...

'' - Korean whitebeam *''

Sorbus anglica ''Sorbus anglica'', the English whitebeam, is a species of whitebeam tree in the family Rosaceae. It is uncommonly found in Ireland and the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the Un ...

'' - English whitebeam *'' Sorbus aria'' - Common Whitebeam *''

Sorbus aronioides ''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, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depen ...

'' - Chokeberry-leaved whitebeam *''

Sorbus arranensis ''Sorbus arranensis'', sometimes referred to as the Scottish or Arran whitebeam is a species of plant in the family Rosaceae. It is endemic to the island of Arran in Scotland. Range and habitat The species is threatened by habitat loss and on ...

'' - Arran whitebeam *'' Sorbus austriaca'' *'' Sorbus bristoliensis'' - Bristol Gorge whitebeam *''

Sorbus cambrensis ''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, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depe ...

'' - Welsh whitebeam *''

Sorbus carpatica ''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, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depe ...

'' - Carpathian whitebeam *''

Sorbus cheddarensis ''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, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depe ...

'' - Cheddar whitebeam *''

Sorbus croceocarpa ''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, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depe ...

'' - Orange whitebeam *''

Sorbus cuneifolia ''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, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depe ...

'' - Llangollen whitebeam *'' Sorbus danubialis'' *'' Sorbus decipiens'' - Sharp-toothed whitebeam *'' Sorbus devoniensis'' - Devon whitebeam *'' Sorbus eminens'' - Round-leaved whitebeam *'' Sorbus eminentiformis'' - Doward whitebeam *'' Sorbus eminentoides'' - Twin Cliffs whitebeam *'' Sorbus folgneri'' - Folgner's whitebeam *'' Sorbus franconica'' *''

Sorbus graeca ''Sorbus graeca'', also known as the Greek whitebeam and fan-leaved service-tree is a species of whitebeam, member of the genus ''Sorbus'' in the rose family (Rosaceae). Description Distribution and habitat The tree is native to most of ...

'' - Balkan whitebeam *'' Sorbus hemsleyi'' *'' Sorbus hibernica'' - Irish whitebeam *''

Sorbus hybrida ''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, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depe ...

'' - Finnish whitebeam, Swedish service-tree *''

Sorbus intermedia ''Scandosorbus intermedia'', the Swedish whitebeam, is a species of whitebeam found in southern Sweden, with scattered occurrences in easternmost Denmark (Bornholm), the far southwest of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and northern Poland.Rushforth, K. ...

'' - Swedish whitebeam *'' Sorbus lancastriensis'' - Lancastrian whitebeam *''

Sorbus latifolia ''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, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depend ...

'' - Service tree of Fontainebleau *'' Sorbus leighensis'' - Leigh Woods whitebeam *'' Sorbus leptophylla'' - Thin-leaved whitebeam *'' Sorbus leyana'' - Ley's whitebeam *'' Sorbus margaretae'' - Margaret's whitebeam *'' Sorbus minima'' - Least whitebeam *''

Sorbus mougeotii ''Sorbus mougeotii'', the Vosges whitebeam or Mougeot's whitebeam, is a species of whitebeam native to the mountains of central and western Europe from the Pyrenees east through the Alps to Austria, and north to the Vosges Mountains.Rushforth, K. ...

'' - Vosges whitebeam *'' Sorbus parviloba'' - Ship Rock whitebeam *'' Sorbus porrigentiformis'' - Grey-leaved whitebeam *''

Sorbus pseudofennica ''Sorbus pseudofennica'' (also called Arran service-tree or Arran cut-leaved whitebeam) is a species of plant in the family Rosaceae. Endemic to the Isle of Arran in Scotland, it is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also te ...

'' - Arran service tree *'' Sorbus pseudomeinichii'' - False rowan *''

Sorbus rupicola ''Sorbus rupicola'', known as rock whitebeam, is a rare shrub or small tree best known from the British Isles but also reported from Norway, Sweden and Russia. Reaching heights of 10 m,''New Flora of the British Isles''; Clive Stace; Third edi ...

'' - Rock whitebeam *'' Sorbus rupicoloides'' - Gough's Rock whitebeam *'' Sorbus saxicola'' - Symonds Yat whitebeam *'' Sorbus scannelliana'' - Scannell's whitebeam *'' Sorbus stenophylla'' - Llanthony whitebeam *'' Sorbus stirtoniana'' - Stirton's whitebeam *'' Sorbus subcuneata'' - Somerset whitebeam *'' Sorbus thibetica'' - Tibetan whitebeam *'' Sorbus umbellata'' *'' Sorbus vestita'' - Himalayan whitebeam *'' Sorbus vexans'' - Bloody whitebeam *'' Sorbus whiteana'' - White's whitebeam *'' Sorbus wilmottiana'' - Wilmott's whitebeam Plus many other species *''Sorbus'' subgenus ''

'' *''Sorbus'' Other subgenera

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4244649 Sorbus