''Aria porrigentiformis'', commonly known as the grey-leafed whitebeam, is a species of

whitebeam The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae, tribe Malinae, 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 hybridisa ...

endemic to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Description

This species grows as a shrub or small tree, growing to a height of about 5m. It has obovate leaves ; these are shiny green above, and as with all whitebeams, are whitish below. Flowers are white, while the fruits are red globose berries ca.1cm across, usually dappled with pale lenticels.Rich, T.C.G., Houston, L., Robertson, A. and Proctor, M.C.F., 2010. Whitebeams, Rowans and Service trees of Britain and Ireland: a monograph of British and Irish 'Sorbus' L. London: Botanical Society of the British Isles.

Distribution and habitat

''Aria porrigentiformis'' is a light demanding species, growing in abandoned quarries, scrubby hills, and grassland on shallow, usually calcareous soils. Populations are restricted to South

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, and there are fewer than one thousand individuals in total.

References

Rosaceae {{rosaceae-stub