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 depending on the circumscription of the genus, and also due to the number of apomictic microspecies, which some treat as distinct species, but others group in a smaller number of variable species. Recent treatments classify Sorbus in a narrower sense to include only the pinnate leaved species of subgenus Sorbus, raising several of the other subgenera to generic rank.
The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae, comprising the genus Aria. They are deciduous trees with simple or lobed leaves, arranged alternately. They are related to the rowans, and many of the endemic restricted-range apomictic microspecies of whitebeam in Europe are thought to derive from hybrids between the common whitebeam and the European rowan. Some are also thought to be hybrids with the wild service tree, and the service tree of Fontainebleau found in French woodlands.
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.
Ligustrum lucidum, the broad-leaf privet, Chinese privet, glossy privet, tree privet or wax-leaf privet, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the southern half of China and naturalized in many places. The name "Chinese privet" is also used for Ligustrum sinense.
Aria eminens, commonly known as the round-leaved whitebeam, is a species of plant in the family Rosaceae. It is endemic to Great Britain and is threatened by habitat loss.
Aria lancastriensis, commonly known as the Lancashire whitebeam, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the family Rosaceae, growing to 6 m (20 ft). It is endemic to England, and is found within a 30 km (19 mi) radius from Morecambe Bay, in Lancashire. It is threatened by habitat loss. It has oval leaves. White blossom in spring is followed by orange to red berries in autumn.
Aria × leptophylla, commonly known as the thin-leaved whitebeam, is a species of plant in the family Rosaceae. It is endemic to Wales. It is a hybrid between Aria edulis and Aria porrigentiformis.
Aria vexans, commonly known as bloody whitebeam, is a rare species of tree in the family Rosaceae. It is endemic to England and is found along the coast between Culbone in Somerset and an area just west of Trentishoe in Devon. It can be seen in the Exmoor National Park. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Aria wilmottiana, commonly known as Willmott's whitebeam, is a species of whitebeam in the family Rosaceae. It is endemic to England, and is found in the Avon Gorge, in Somerset and Gloucestershire. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Sorbus commixta, the Japanese rowan, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to central and eastern China, Korea, Japan, and Sakhalin.
Hedlundia hybrida, the Swedish service-treeFinnish whitebeam, or oakleaf mountain ash, is a species of whitebeam native to Norway, eastern Sweden, south-western Finland, and locally in Latvia.
Sorbus sargentiana, commonly known as Sargent's rowan is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is native to southwestern Sichuan and northern Yunnan in China, where it grows at altitudes of 2,000–3,200 m (6,560–10,500 ft).
Gaultheria mucronata is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to southern Argentina and Chile.
Sorbus vilmorinii, the Vilmorin's rowan or Vilmorin's mountain ash, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to Sichuan, Tibet and Yunnan in China.
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.
Acer palmatum, commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Korean: danpungnamu, 단풍나무, Japanese: irohamomiji, イロハモミジ, or momiji,, is a species of woody plant native to Korea, Japan, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Many different cultivars of this maple have been selected and they are grown worldwide for their large variety of attractive forms, leaf shapes, and spectacular colors.
Karpatiosorbus houstoniae, or Houston's whitebeam, is a hybrid of two deciduous trees: the common whitebeam and the Bristol whitebeam. Only a single example of the hybrid is known to exist, at the Avon Gorge in Bristol, England. The only specimen grows on a cliff below Stokeleigh Camp at Leigh Woods in North Somerset and cannot be accessed without ropes.
Sorbus thibetica (康藏花楸), the Tibetan whitebeam, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to south western China and the Himalayas. Growing to 20 m (66 ft) tall by 15 m (49 ft) broad, it is a substantial deciduous tree. Like other whitebeams, the undersides of the leaves are white, giving a dramatic effect when the wind blows through them.
Aria porrigentiformis, commonly known as the grey-leafed whitebeam, is a species of whitebeam endemic to England and Wales.
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.
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