Sorbus

Rowan Sorbus aucuparia, photographed by Giallopolenta.

Belongs within: Rosales.

Sorbus, the rowans and whitebeams, is a Holarctic genus of trees and shrubs bearing clusters of white flowers and often colourful fruits. Members include the rowan or mountain ash S. aucuparia, which has pinnately compound leaves and densely hairy stem buds, and is widely distributed across the Palaearctic region.

Characters (from Flora of China): Trees or shrubs, usually deciduous. Winter buds usually rather large, ovoid, conical, or spindle-shaped, sometimes viscid; scales imbricate, several, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves alternate, membranous or herbaceous; stipules caducous, simple or pinnately compound, plicate or rarely convolute in bud; leaf blade usually serrate, sometimes nearly entire, venation craspedodromous or camptodromous, glabrous or pubescent. Inflorescences compound, rarely simple corymbs or panicles. Hypanthium campanulate, rarely obconical or urceolate. Sepals 5, ovate or triangular, glabrous, pubescent, or tomentose, sometimes glandular along margin. Petals 5, glabrous or pubescent, base clawed or not. Stamens 15–25(–44) in 2 or 3 whorls, unequal in length; anthers ovoid or subglobose. Carpels 2–5, partly or wholly adnate to hypanthium; ovary semi-inferior to inferior, 2–5-(–7)loculed, with 2 or 3(or 4) ovules per locule, one usually abortive; styles 2–5, free or partially connate, glabrous or pubescent. Fruit a pome, white, yellow, pink, or brown to orange or red, ovoid or globose to ellipsoid or oblong, usually small, glabrous or pubescent, laevigate or with small lenticels, apically with sepals persistent or caducous leaving an annular scar, with 2–5(–7) locules, each with 1 or 2 exendospermous seeds; seeds several, with thin perisperm and endosperm enclosing embryo with compressed cotyledons.Trees or shrubs, usually deciduous. Winter buds usually rather large, ovoid, conical, or spindle-shaped, sometimes viscid; scales imbricate, several, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves alternate, membranous or herbaceous; stipules caducous, simple or pinnately compound, plicate or rarely convolute in bud; leaf blade usually serrate, sometimes nearly entire, venation craspedodromous or camptodromous, glabrous or pubescent. Inflorescences compound, rarely simple corymbs or panicles. Hypanthium campanulate, rarely obconical or urceolate. Sepals 5, ovate or triangular, glabrous, pubescent, or tomentose, sometimes glandular along margin. Petals 5, glabrous or pubescent, base clawed or not. Stamens 15–25(–44) in 2 or 3 whorls, unequal in length; anthers ovoid or subglobose. Carpels 2–5, partly or wholly adnate to hypanthium; ovary semi-inferior to inferior, 2–5-(–7)loculed, with 2 or 3(or 4) ovules per locule, one usually abortive; styles 2–5, free or partially connate, glabrous or pubescent. Fruit a pome, white, yellow, pink, or brown to orange or red, ovoid or globose to ellipsoid or oblong, usually small, glabrous or pubescent, laevigate or with small lenticels, apically with sepals persistent or caducous leaving an annular scar, with 2–5(–7) locules, each with 1 or 2 exendospermous seeds; seeds several, with thin perisperm and endosperm enclosing embryo with compressed cotyledons.

<==Sorbus
    |--S. alnifolia TS93
    |--S. americana P93
    |--S. aucuparia BS01
    |--S. californica H93
    |--S. commixta M03
    |--S. cuspidata (Spach) Hedlund 1901 (see below for synonymy) G07b
    |    |--S. c. var. cuspidata G07b
    |    `--S. c. var. khasiana (Hooker) Ghora 2007 [=Pyrus vestita var. khasiana Hooker 1878] G07b
    |--S. domestica H91
    |--S. intermedia VBD99
    |--S. microphylla O88
    |--S. pohuashanensis WB03
    |--S. scandica B88
    |--S. scopulina H93
    |    |--S. s. var. scopulina H93
    |    `--S. s. var. cascadensis H93
    |--S. sitchensis H93
    |    |--S. s. var. sitchensis H93
    |    `--S. s. var. grayi [incl. S. occidentalis] H93
    |--S. sujoyi Ghora 2007 [=Pyrus wallichii var. japvoensis ms] G07a
    |--S. torminalis H91
    |--S. umbellata HF03
    |--S. ursina O88
    |    |--S. u. var. ursina O88
    |    `--S. u. var. wenzigiana O88
    `--S. wallichii G07a

Sorbus cuspidata (Spach) Hedlund 1901 [=Crataegus cuspidata Spach 1834; incl. Pyrus vestita Wallich ex Don 1832] G07b

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BS01] Bannister, P., & G. L. Strong. 2001. The distribution and population structure of the temperate mistletoe Ileostylus micranthus in the Northern Cemetery, Dunedin, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 39: 225–233.

[B88] Bouček, Z. 1988. Australasian Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera): A biosystematic revision of genera of fourteen families, with a reclassification of species. CAB International: Wallingford (UK).

[G07a] Ghora, C. 2007a. Sorbus sujoyi Ghora (Rosaceae)—a new species from north east India. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 49: 199–200.

[G07b] Ghora, C. 2007b. A new combination in Sorbus cuspidata (Spach) Hedlund (Rosaceae). Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 49: 201–202.

[HF03] Halperin, J. & J. Fremuth. 2003. Contribution to the knowledge of Curculionoidea (Coleoptera) and their host plants in Israel. Zoology in the Middle East 29: 93–100.

[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).

[H91] Hubálek, Z. 1991. Biogeographic indication of natural foci of tick-borne infections. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 255–260. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[M03] Mockford, E. L. 2003. New species and records of Psocoptera from the Kuril Islands. Mitt. Mus. Nat.kd. Berl., Dtsch. Entomol. Z. 50 (2): 191–230.

[O88] Ohba, H. 1988. The alpine flora of the Nepal Himalayas: an introductory note. In: Ohba, H., & S. B. Malla (eds) The Himalayan Plants vol. 1. The University Museum, University of Tokyo, Bulletin 31: 19–46.

[P93] Pittaway, A. R. 1993. The Hawkmoths of the Western Palaearctic. Harley Books: Colchester.

[TS93] Tsurusaki, N., & D. Song. 1993. Occurrence of Crosbycus dasycnemus (Crosby) (Opiliones, Palpatores, Ceratolasmatidae) in China. Japanese Journal of Entomology 61 (1): 175–176.

[VBD99] Voglmayr, H., L. J. Bonner & M. W. Dick. 1999. Taxonomy and oogonial ultrastructure of a new aero-aquatic peronosporomycete, Medusoides gen. nov. (Pythiogetonaceae fam. nov.) Mycological Research 103 (5): 591–606.

[WB03] Wang, Q.-M., F.-Y. Bai, J.-H. Zhao & J.-H. Jia. 2003. Bensingtonia changbaiensis sp. nov. and Bensingtonia sorbi sp. nov., novel ballistoconidium-forming yeast species from plant leaves. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 53: 2085–2089.

Last updated: 12 September 2020.