''Alniaria alnifolia'' (syns. ''Sorbus alnifolia'' and ''Aria alnifolia''), also called alder-leafed whitebeam, Korean whitebeam, or Korean mountain ash, , 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 ...

native to eastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

in eastern and northern China,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

and Japan.

Description

''Alniaria alnifolia'' 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 10–20 m tall with a trunk up to 30 cm 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 columnar or conic in young trees, becoming rounded with age, with branches angled upwards, and slender shoots. The leaves are green above, and thinly hairy with white hairs beneath, 5–10 cm long and 3–6 cm broad, simple, usually unlobed (but see varieties, below), broadest near the base, with serrated margins and an acute apex. The autumn colour is orange-pink to red. 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 10–18 mm 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 4–8 cm 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 a globose

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 ...

8–15 mm diameter, bright red, with a dimple at the apex; they are mature in mid autumn.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins . It has sometimes been placed in a separate genus of its own as ''Micromeles alnifolia'', differing from other whitebeams in the deciduous sepals on the fruit (persistent in other whitebeams), but genetic evidence places it close to ''

Sorbus aria ''Sorbus aria'' (syn. ''Aria nivea''), the whitebeam or common whitebeam, is a deciduous tree, the type species of the subgenus ''Sorbus'' subg. ''Aria'' of the genus ''Sorbus''. It is native to most of Europe as well as North Africa (Algeria, Mo ...

''.

Cultivation and uses

It is occasionally 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, primarily for its autumn colour. The

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

'Skyline' has been selected for its fastigiate growth.

Gallery

Image:Sorbus-alnifolia-habit.JPG, Specimen in cultivation, Denmark File:Sorbus alnifolia—red fruits.jpg, Red pomes in autumn, Morris Arboretum Image:Sorbus alnifolia 'Submollis' JPG1Ta.jpg, ''Alniaria alnifolia'' 'Submollis' in Arboretum Robert Lenoir -

Rendeux Rendeux (; wa, Rindeu) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 68.83 km2, had 2,274 inhabitants, giving a population density of 33 inhabitants per km2. ...

(

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

) Image:Sorbus alnifolia 'Submollis' JPG1La.jpg, ''Alniaria alnifolia'' 'Submollis' leaves in autumn Image:SorbusAlnifoliaBark.jpg, Closeup of trunk

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q95983709, from2=Q1151129 alnifolia Trees of China Trees of Japan Trees of Korea Trees of Taiwan Plants described in 2018