''Sorbus vexans'' (known as bloody whitebeam) is a rare tree in the family

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), '' Sorbu ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

to England. It is found along the coast between

Culbone Culbone (also called Kitnor) is a hamlet consisting of little more than the parish church and a few houses, in the parish of Oare in the Exmoor National Park, Somerset, England. As there is no road access it is a two-mile walk from Porlock W ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

and an area just west of Trentishoe in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. It can be seen in the

Exmoor National Park Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Description

''Sorbus vexans'' is a small tree or shrub, often with multiple stems. The leaves, greyish-white below like other whitebeams, are narrower than most other species in this genus. The fruits, which develop from September on, are deep red.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.

References

Endemic flora of England vexans Vulnerable plants Environment of Somerset Exmoor Environment of Devon Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{sorbus-stub