''Scandosorbus intermedia'' or, formerly, ''Sorbus intermedia'', the Swedish whitebeam, is a species of

whitebeam The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae, comprising subgenus ''Aria'' (or, according to some authorities, its own genus) of genus ''Sorbus'', and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera ''Sorbus'', ''Torminar ...

found in southern Sweden, with scattered occurrences in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, easternmost

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

(

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

), the far southwest of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

, and northern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

.Den Virtuella Floran
''Sorbus intermedia'' (in Swedish; with maps)
/ref>

Description

Apis mellifera - Sorbus intermedia - Keila

It is a medium-sized

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, a ...

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 ...

growing to tall with a stout trunk usually up to , but sometimes as much as in diameter, and grey

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, en ...

; the crown is dome-shaped, with stout horizontal branches. The leaves are green above, and densely hairy with pale grey-white hairs beneath, long and broad, with four to seven oval lobes on each side of the leaf, broadest near the middle, rounded at the apex, and finely serrated margins. The autumn colour is dull yellowish to grey-brown. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

s are diameter, with five white petals and 20 yellowish-white stamens; they are produced in

corymb Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficia ...

s diameter in late spring. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

is an oval

pome In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Well-known pomes include the apple, pear, and quince. Etymology The word ''pome'' entered English in the late 14th century, an ...

long and in diameter, orange-red to red, maturing in mid autumn. The fruit is dryish, and eaten by

thrushes The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycat ...

and

waxwings The waxwings are three species of passerine birds classified in the genus ''Bombycilla''. They are pinkish-brown and pale grey with distinctive smooth plumage in which many body feathers are not individually visible, a black and white eyestripe, ...

, which disperse the

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

s. ''Scandosorbus intermedia'' is a triple hybrid between '' Sorbus aucuparia'', ''

Torminalis glaberrima ''Torminalis'' is a plant genus that has sometimes been included within the genus ''Sorbus'', as Section ''Torminaria''. It includes at least one species, ''Torminalis clusii'' (Schönb.-Tem.) K.R.Robertson & J.B.Phipps (=''Sorbus torminalis''). ...

'' (formerly ''Sorbus torminalis''), and either ''

Aria edulis ''Aria edulis'', the whitebeam or common whitebeam, is a species of deciduous tree in the family ''Rosaceae''. It is native to most of Europe as well as North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia) and temperate Asia (Eastern Anatolia Region, Easte ...

'' (formerly ''Sorbus aria'') or one of its close relatives. It is closely related to ''

Hedlundia hybrida ''Hedlundia hybrida'' (formerly ''Sorbus 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.Rushforth, K. (1999 ...

'' (Finnish whitebeam, formerly ''Sorbus hybrida''), another species of

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

origin, which differs in having the leaves more deeply lobed, with the basal two pairs cut right to the midrib as separate leaflets. Both are tetraploid

apomictic In botany, apomixis is asexual reproduction without fertilization. Its etymology is Greek for "away from" + "mixing". This definition notably does not mention meiosis. Thus "normal asexual reproduction" of plants, such as propagation from cutt ...

species which breed true without pollination.

Habitat, cultivation and uses

In the Nordic countries, the tree typically grows in forests,

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or s ...

s or forest edges. It is widely grown as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

in northern Europe, valued for its tolerance of urban street conditions; it is very commonly used in

avenue Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, Lon ...

s and urban parks. It is frequently

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

in the British Isles. In recent years, much new planting of "Swedish whitebeam" has actually been of the related '' Hedlundia mougeotii'' (Vosges whitebeam), another apomictic species from further south in Europe that has more erect branching, less deeply lobed leaves with whiter undersides to the leaves, and darker red fruit.

References

External links

''Sorbus intermedia''
- information, genetic conservation units and related resources.

European Forest Genetic Resources Programme European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) is an international network that supports the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in Europe. The programme’s tasks include to coordinate and promote ''in situ'' and ...

(EUFORGEN) {{Use dmy dates, date=May 2020 Maleae Flora of Denmark Flora of Estonia Flora of Finland Flora of Latvia Flora of Poland Flora of Sweden Hybrid plants