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| Whitebeam | ||||||||||||||
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Species | ||||||||||||||
| 'Sorbus subgenus Aria'' Sorbus aria - Common whitebeam Sorbus arranensis - Arran whitebeam Sorbus bristoliensis - Bristol Gorge whitebeam Sorbus devoniensis - Devon whitebeam Sorbus folgneri - Folgner's whitebeam Sorbus intermedia - Swedish whitebeam Sorbus mougeotii - Vosges whitebeam Sorbus rupicola - Rock whitebeam Sorbus thibetica - Tibetan whitebeam Sorbus vestita - Himalayan whitebeam Plus many other species Sorbus subgenus Sorbus Other subgenera''' | ||||||||||||||
The Whitebeams are members of the Rosaceae family, in genus Sorbus subgenus Aria. They are deciduous trees with simple or lobed leaves, arranged alternately. They are related to the rowans (Sorbus subgenus Sorbus), and many of the endemic restricted-range apomictic microspecies of whitebeam in Europe are thought to derive from hybrids between S. aria and the European rowan S. aucuparia; some are also thought to be hybrids with the Wild service tree S. torminalis.
The best known species is Common Whitebeam Sorbus aria, but several other species from Europe and Asia in particular are widely cultivated as ornamental trees.
The berries are a favourite of birds, though less palatable (less juicy) than rowan berries.