Whitebeam

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Whitebeam
Sorbus aria.jpg
Common whitebeam flowers
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Tribe: Maleae
Subtribe: Malinae
Reveal
Synonyms
  • Torminaria(DC.) M.Roem.

The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae, comprising a number of deciduous simple or lobe-leaved species formerly lumped together within Sorbus s.l. Many whitebeams are the result of extensive intergeneric hybridisation involving the genera Sorbus ( Sorbus aucuparia in particular), Aria , Torminalis and Chamaemespilus . As an effect, they are commonly apomicts (reproducing solely asexually) and many have very restricted ranges. The best known species is the common whitebeam ( Aria edulis ), a columnar tree which grows to 25 m (82 ft) tall by 10 m (33 ft) broad, with clusters of white flowers in spring followed by speckled red berries in autumn (fall). [1]

Contents

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". [2] It is also described as the "wind-beat whitebeam" in Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem "The Starlight Night". [3]

Ecology

The berries are a favourite of birds, though less palatable (drier, less juicy) than rowan berries. Whitebeams are sometimes used as larval food plants by species of Lepidoptera, including the short-cloaked moth.[ citation needed ]

Uses

Cross-section of a whitebeam trunk WhiteBeamBranch.JPG
Cross-section of a whitebeam trunk

These trees are often grown in parks and large gardens. The cultivars A.edulis 'Lutescens' [4] and A.edulis 'Majestica' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [5]

The tough, hard wood is a deep orange when wet, and pale yellow after drying.[ citation needed ]

The fruit is edible, but only when nearly rotten. [6]

Taxonomy

Whitebeams are no natural taxonomic grouping. Rather, they are representatives of several genera of the Malinae subtribe, all of which were traditionally treated within a broadly circumscribed genus Sorbus s.l. This treatment of Sorbus, however, was found to be polyphyletic, comprising two monophyletic clades that were not particularly close to each other. Now, Sorbus is more often defined in a narrow sense to include only the rowans or mountain ashes, with all the other former members being elevated into genera in their own right. Species which are commonly referred to as whitebeams can be found in several genera, five of which are the result of intergeneric hybridisation. [7]

Non-hybridogenous whitebeam genera

In western Eurasia

In eastern Eurasia

Hybridogenous whitebeam genera

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maloideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

The MaloideaeC.Weber was the apple subfamily, a grouping used by some taxonomists within the rose family, Rosaceae. Recent molecular phylogenetic evidence has shown that the traditional Spiraeoideae and Amygdaloideae form part of the same clade as the traditional Maloideae, and the correct name for this group is Amygdaloideae. Earlier circumscriptions of Maloideae are more-or-less equivalent to subtribe Malinae or to tribe Maleae. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruits, such as apples and pears, while others are cultivated as ornamentals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowan</span> Common name of a subgenus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae

The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus Sorbus of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya, southern Tibet and parts of western China, where numerous apomictic microspecies occur. The name rowan was originally applied to the species Sorbus aucuparia and is also used for other species in the genus Sorbus.

<i>Sorbus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the rose family Rosaceae

Sorbus is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of Sorbus (s.str.) are commonly known as rowan or mountain-ash. Currently, species commonly known as whitebeam, chequer tree and service tree are classified in other genera, so that genus Sorbus includes only the pinnate leaved species of former subgenus Sorbus.

<i>Chamaemespilus</i> Species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae

Chamaemespilus is a genus of shrubs in the family Rosaceae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Chamaemespilus alpina, commonly known as false medlar or dwarf whitebeam. It is native to the mountains of central and southern Europe, from the Pyrenees east through the Alps to the Carpathians and the Balkans, growing at elevations of up to 2500 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shipova</span> Hybrid pear

The shipova, scientific name × Pyraria irregularis, synonyms including × Sorbopyrus irregularis, is a hybrid of the European pear and the common whitebeam. It is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 10–18 m tall, with deciduous oval leaves 7–11 cm long and 5–6 cm broad. The fruit is a pome 2.5–3 cm long; it is edible with a sweet, yellowish flesh, which tastes similar to a Nashi pear.

<i>Karpatiosorbus latifolia</i> Species of tree

Karpatiosorbus latifolia is a species of whitebeam that is endemic to the area around Fontainebleau, south of Paris in France, where it has been known since the early eighteenth century.

The Arran whitebeams are species of whitebeam endemic to the island of Arran, Ayrshire, Scotland.

<i>Hedlundia arranensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Hedlundia 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.

<i>Hedlundia leyana</i> Species of tree

Hedlundia leyana, commonly known as Ley's whitebeam, is a species of small tree which is endemic to two sites in southern Wales. It is thought to have arisen by hybridisation between the rowan and a member of genus Aria.

<i>Aria edulis</i> Species of tree in family Rosaceae

Aria edulis, the whitebeam or common whitebeam, is a species of deciduous tree in the family Rosaceae.

<i>Hedlundia hybrida</i> Hybrid species of tree

Hedlundia hybrida, the Swedish service-tree, Finnish whitebeam, or oakleaf mountain ash, is a species of whitebeam native to Norway, eastern Sweden, south-western Finland, and locally in Latvia.

<i>Hedlundia minima</i> Species of shrub

Hedlundia minima, commonly known as the lesser whitebeam or least whitebeam, is a deciduous shrub in the rose family Rosaceae. It belongs to the genus Hedlundia, which includes species that have arisen from a hybridisation between members of the genus Sorbus (rowans) and members of genus Aria (whitebeams). It is an apomictic microspecies that reproduces only asexually, and is endemic to Wales.

<i>Karpatiosorbus devoniensis</i> Species of tree

Karpatiosorbus devoniensis is known by the English name of Devon whitebeam and formally as Broad-leaved Whitebeam. When the fruit was reported as sold at Barnstaple Pannier Market the name French Eagles was used, apart from 1929 when they were reported as eagle-berries. When the trees were reported as seen growing wild on botanical walks they were referred to as French Hails. Broad-leaved white-beam, which was the common name until Devon Whitebeam took over, was used once in 1907.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maleae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

The Maleae are the apple tribe in the rose family, Rosaceae. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruits, such as apples and pears, while others are cultivated as ornamentals. Older taxonomies separated some of this group as tribe Crataegeae, as the Cydonia group, or some genera were placed in family Quillajaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malinae</span> Subtribe of flowering plants

Malinae is the name for the apple subtribe in the rose family, Rosaceae. This name is required by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, which came into force in 2011 for any group at the subtribe rank that includes the genus Malus but not either of the genera Rosa or Amygdalus. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruits, such as apples and pears, while others are cultivated as ornamentals.

<i>Torminalis</i> Genus of trees in the rose family

Torminalis is a genus of plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. The genus was formerly included within the genus Sorbus as the section Torminaria, but the simple-leafed species traditionally classified in Sorbus are now considered to form a separate monophyletic group. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Torminalis glaberrima, commonly known as wild service tree, chequers, and checker tree. This tree is native to Europe, parts of northern Africa and western Asia.

<i>Aria</i> (genus)

Aria is a genus plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It includes some of the deciduous species commonly known as whitebeams, and is native to Europe, the north African mountains and western Asia. Via hybridisation with related genera, it is a main contributor to the genesis of a complex of apomicts of intergeneric hybrid origin, which are also commonly referred to as whitebeams.

Aria leighensis, commonly known as Leigh Woods whitebeam, is a rare species of whitebeam, a flowering plant in the|rose family Rosaceae.

<i>Hedlundia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Hedlundia is a genus of plants in the rose family. They are shrubs or small trees that have a hybrid origin involving crosses between Aria and Sorbus sensu stricto. There are about 48 species are distributed across central, western and southern Europe, Scandinavia, Turkey, the Caucasus, Crimea, and also central Asia. The term Hedlundia was published in 2017.

References

  1. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN   978-1405332965.
  2. Meredith, G. (1851). Love in the valley. Line 207. Poems
  3. Hopkins, Gerar Manley (1918). The starlight night. Line 6.
  4. "RHS Plant Selector - Sorbus aria 'Lutescens'" . Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  5. "RHS Plant Selector - Sorbus aria 'Majestica'" . Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  6. Trust, Woodland. "Whitebeam (Sorbus aria) - British Trees". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  7. "Sorbus - Trees and Shrubs Online". www.treesandshrubsonline.org. Retrieved 2025-01-31.