Whitebeam

Whitebeam
Common Whitebeam flowers
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Sorbus
Subgenus:	Aria
Species
Sorbus subgenus Aria Sorbus admonitor - No Parking Whitebeam Sorbus alnifolia - Korean Whitebeam Sorbus anglica - English Whitebeam 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 latifolia - Service Tree of Fontainebleau Sorbus mougeotii - Vosges Whitebeam Sorbus rupicola - Rock Whitebeam Sorbus thibetica - Tibetan Whitebeam Sorbus vestita - Himalayan Whitebeam Plus many other species Sorbus subgenus Sorbus 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, notably the Service Tree of Fontainebleau Sorbus latifolia in French woodlands.

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.

Appearance

The surface of the leaf is an unremarkable mid-green, but the underside is almost white (hence the name) transforming the appearance of the tree in strong winds, as noted by the poet Meredith: "flashing as in gusts the sudden-lighted whitebeam" ^[1].

The wood is a deep orange when wet, and pale yellow after drying.

Uses

The berries are a favourite of birds, though less palatable (drier, less juicy) than rowan berries. Whitebeams are sometimes used as larval food plants by Lepidoptera species including Short-cloaked Moth.

The wood is hard, and suited for woodturning, furniture and tool handles, a tough wood that was used to make cogs before the use of iron.

Etymology

Look up whitebeam in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

'White' from the colour of the emergent foliage and, later, undersides of the leaves, 'beam' from the Saxon word for 'tree'.

References