Sorbus chamaemespilus

Sorbus chamaemespilus, the false medlar or dwarf whitebeam, is a species of Sorbus native to the mountains of central and southern Europe, from the Pyrenees east through the Alps to the Carpathians and the Balkans, growing at altitudes of up to 2500 m.[1]

  • Tree in autumn
  • fruit

Sorbus chamaemespilus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Rosales
Family:
Rosaceae
Genus:
Sorbus
Subgenus:
Chamaemespilus
Species:
S. chamaemespilus
Binomial name
Sorbus chamaemespilus

Description

It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2–3 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, oval-elliptic, 3–7 cm long, with an acute apex and a serrated margin; they are green on both sides, without the white felting found on most whitebeams. The flowers are pink, with five forward-pointing petals 5–7 mm long; they are produced in corymbs 3–4 cm diameter. The fruit is an oval red pome 10–13 mm diameter.[1][2]

Taxonomy

It is the sole species in a group that has been called genus Chamaemespilus[3][4] or Sorbus subgenus Chamaemespilus,[5] distinguished from other subgenera of Sorbus by the pink (not white) flowers with forward-pointing petals (not opening flat).[2] More recently, it has become clear that the simple-leafed species traditionally included in Sorbus form a monophyletic group, and this species could be included in a clade called Aria[6] (genus Aria or Sorbus subgenus Aria).

References
  1. Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN 0-340-40170-2
  2. Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
  3. Robertson, K.R.; Phipps, J.B.; Rohrer, J.R.; Smith, P.G. (1991), "A synopsis of genera in Maloideae (Rosaceae)", Systematic Botany, 16 (2): 376–394, doi:10.2307/2419287, JSTOR 2419287CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  4. Potter, D.; Eriksson, T.; Evans, R.C.; Oh, S.; Smedmark, J.E.E.; Morgan, D.R.; Kerr, M.; Robertson, K.R.; Arsenault, M.; Dickinson, T.A.; Campbell, C.S. (2007), "Phylogeny and classification of Rosaceae", Plant Systematics and Evolution, 266 (1–2): 5–43, doi:10.1007/s00606-007-0539-9, S2CID 16578516CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  5. Lepší, M.; Lepší, P.; Koutecký, P.; Bílá, J.; Vít, P. (2015), "Taxonomic revision of Sorbus subgenus Aria occurring in the Czech Republic" (PDF), Preslia, 87: 109–162CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  6. Lo, E.Y.Y.; Donoghue, M.J. (2012), "Expanded phylogenetic and dating analyses of the apples and their relatives (Pyreae, Rosaceae)", Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 63 (2): 230–243, doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.005, PMID 22293154CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)


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