Sorbus Latifolia
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''Karpatiosorbus latifolia'' (the broad-leaved whitebeam or service tree of Fontainebleau; French: ''alisier de Fontainebleau'') 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 ...
that is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the area around
Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...
, south of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in France, where it has been known since the early eighteenth century.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins .Mitchell, A. F. (1974). ''A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe''. Collins Mitchell, A. F. (1982). ''The Trees of Britain and Northern Europe''. Collins


Description

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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
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, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
that grows to between ten and twenty metres tall, with a trunk up to sixty centimetres in diameter. The
leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
are five to ten centimetres long and broad (rarely, up to 20 cm long and 12 cm broad), but, most typically, the leaves are approximately as broad as they are long. (''Latifolia'' is the Latin word for 'broad-leaved'.) They are green above, downy with greyish-white hairs beneath, with six to ten small triangular teeth along each margin. The
flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
s are between one centimetre and 1.5 centimetres in diameter, with five creamy-white petals and yellowish 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 superficial re ...
s about eight centimetres in diameter in mid-spring. The
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
is a globular, dull brownish-red,
pome In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Pome fruits consist of a central "core" containing multiple small seeds, which is enveloped by a tough membrane and surrounded by a ...
of ten to twelve millimetres diameter, dotted with large pale lenticels, ripening in late autumn.


Taxonomy

The tree is 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, between ''
Sorbus torminalis ''Torminalis'' is a genus of plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. The genus was formerly included within the genus ''Sorbus'' as the Section (biology), section ''Torminaria'', but the simple-leafed species traditionally classified in ''Sorbus'' ...
'' (wild service tree) and a member of the '' Sorbus aria'' (whitebeam) group, but it exhibits
apomixis In botany, apomixis is asexual development of seed or embryo without fertilization. However, other definitions include replacement of the seed by a plantlet or replacement of the flower by bulbils. Apomictically produced offspring are geneti ...
and breeds true from seed. It was at one time thought to be a variety of '' Sorbus intermedia'' (Swedish whitebeam), and it was treated as such by some authors, such as A. P. de Candolle and J. C. Loudon, during the nineteenth century. Meanwhile, the horticulturalist, George Loddiges, whom Loudon held in high regard, labelled his arboretum trees at
Abney Park Cemetery Abney Park cemetery is one of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries in London, England. Abney Park in Stoke Newington in the London Borough of Hackney is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney, D ...
in 1840, as ''Sorbus latifolia'', the currently-accepted
binomial Binomial may refer to: In mathematics *Binomial (polynomial), a polynomial with two terms *Binomial coefficient, numbers appearing in the expansions of powers of binomials *Binomial QMF, a perfect-reconstruction orthogonal wavelet decomposition * ...
. Reflecting the considerable difference in opinion over the past two centuries as to its origins and identity, many synonyms have been used for the tree, including ''Crataegus latifolia'' Lam.; ''Pyrus latifolia'' (Lam.) Lindl.; ''P. intermedia'' var. ''latifolia'' (Lam.) D.C., and ''P. edulis'' Willd.Bean, W. J. (1980). ''Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles'' 8th ed., vol. 4. John Murray . It is now placed in ''
Karpatiosorbus ''Karpatiosorbus'' (Synonymy: ''Sorbus'' subgenus ''Tormaria'' Májovsky & Bernátová = ''S''. subgenus ''Aria'' x subgenus ''Torminaria'') is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae, native to Europe, including Crimea, and Algeria. S ...
''.


Cultivation and uses

The service tree of Fontainebleau has occasionally been planted in ornamental contexts, or in arboretum schemes of woodland planting, or in gardens and parks, throughout Europe and North America, since its introduction into European horticulture about 1750. Since it is very fertile and grows true from seed, it has occasionally been able to naturalise in woodlands beyond its origins in the protected Fontainebleau woods, as at
Abney Park Cemetery Abney Park cemetery is one of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries in London, England. Abney Park in Stoke Newington in the London Borough of Hackney is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney, D ...
(an early Victorian garden cemetery in
Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...
, London). Although it is rare, the tree has been noted for several commercial uses. Its edible fruit was sold in open-air markets at Fontainebleau until the 1950s, and its homogeneous and long-lasting wood has proved to be valuable for certain uses. The ancient woodlands where it occurs are under the protection of France's ''Office National des Forêts''.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q163774 latifolia