Whitebeam - Sorbus aria, species information page

Whitebeam - Sorbus aria) berries, click for a larger photo

Whitebeam - Sorbus aria flowers, click for a larger photo

Whitebeam - Sorbus aria
Family - Rosaceae
Also known as - Fionncholl (Ireland)

Deciduous tree, related to the Rowan, with a small rounded crown growing to a height of 15m (50ft) in calcareous, (chalky, but sometimes also on sandstone) woodland and found over Southern England, Central and Southern Europe and western Ireland (Galway), in association with Ash, Beech, Field Maple, Hawthorn and Wych Elm. A compact tree with a lifespan of about 80years, Whitebeam has a grey, shallowly fissured bark and is mainly planted in decorative planting schemes. Alternate oval finely toothed leaves shiny dark green above, with white dense hairs underneath, 8cm (3in) in length on stalks 7-20mm (0.25-0.8in) long, turning golden in autumn. Clusters of sweetly scented white flowers appear in May - June maturing to small berry like fruits ripening red in September - October which contain black seeds similar to Apple pips. The fruit is edible and can be made into jam and wine, however FBCP do not advise or recommend that Whitebeam fruit is eaten. Timber from Whitebeam is a brown quite hard wood of good quality, used for tool handles, turnery, furniture & plywood. In the past it had also been used for cogs in machinery.

White, five petaled, sweet-scented flowers, 10-15mm (0.4-0.6in) across are arranged in dense branched flat-topped clusters, at the end of stems appearing in May. The round berries, 8-15mm (0.3-0.6in) across, are green at first, but change to bright scarlet when ripe in September. A number of very similar species are found with limited distribution and are believed to be hybrids between S. aria and the Wild Service Tree S. torminalis or the Rowan, S. aucuparia. Irish Whitebeam (S. hibernica) found in calcerous woods in Ireland. Other varieties are found in South West England and South Wales and in Ireland. The berries are a favorite of birds, though less palatable than Rowan berries. Whitebeams are sometimes used as larval food plants by some Lepidoptera species including the Short-cloaked Moth - Nola cucullatella.

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