Sorbus eminens

Aria eminens
Leaves and unripe fruit from a small tree in Sutton Park, England
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Aria
Species:
A. eminens
Binomial name
Aria eminens
(E.F.Warb.) Sennikov & Kurtto
Synonyms
  • Pyrus eminens (E.F.Warb.) M.F.Fay & Christenh.
  • Sorbus eminens E.F.Warb.
  • Sorbus subeminens P.D.Sell

Aria eminens, commonly known as the round-leaved whitebeam,[2] is a species of plant in the family Rosaceae. It is endemic to Great Britain and is threatened by habitat loss.

Description

Aria eminens is broadly similar to Aria edulis. It is a shrub or small tree up to 10 m (33 ft) tall. The undersides of the leaves are greyish-white due to the many hairs. The leaves are more or less round, usually with a length 1–1.3 times the width, rarely up to 1.5 times as long as wide; they usually have 9–11 veins on either side. The leaf margins usually have a single series of teeth ("uniserrate") although there can be evidence of a second series ("biserrate"). The fruits have many lenticels, small and large, mainly towards the base.[3]

Distribution and habitat

Aria eminens is endemic to parts of south-west England and south Wales. It is considered to be native to calciferous woodland in north Somerset, west Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire.[3] It has also been recorded in Sutton Park, Birmingham, well outside its expected range, where it is assumed to have been planted originally.[4]

Evolution

A. eminens is a tetraploid, resulting from hybridisation between Aria edulis and Aria porrigentiformis[5]

References

  1. ^ Rivers, M.C.; Beech, E. (2017). "Sorbus eminens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T34728A80736113. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T34728A80736113.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ^ a b Stace, Clive (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-70772-5. p. 209.
  4. ^ Trueman, Ian; Poulton, Mike; Reade, Paul (2013). Flora of Birmingham and the Black Country. Newbury, Berks: Pisces Publications. ISBN 978-1-874357-55-1. p. 271.
  5. ^ Robertson, A., Rich, T.C., Allen, A.M., Houston, L., Roberts, C.A.T., Bridle, J.R., Harris, S.A. and Hiscock, S.J., 2010. Hybridization and polyploidy as drivers of continuing evolution and speciation in Sorbus. Molecular Ecology, 19(8), pp.1675-1690.