Subgenus of flowering plants, the whitebeams, in the rose family Rosaceae
The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae , comprising the genus Aria . They are deciduous trees with simple or lobed leaves, arranged alternately. They are related to the rowans , and many of the endemic restricted-range apomictic microspecies of whitebeam in Europe are thought to derive from hybrids between the common whitebeam and the European rowan . Some are also thought to be hybrids with the wild service tree , and the service tree of Fontainebleau found in French woodlands.
The best known species is the common whitebeam, a columnar tree which grows to 25 m (82 ft) tall by 10 m (33 ft) broad, with clusters of white flowers in spring followed by speckled red berries in autumn (fall).[1]
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".[2] It is also described as the "wind-beat whitebeam" in Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem "The Starlight Night".[3]
Ecology 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 species of Lepidoptera , including the short-cloaked moth .[citation needed ]
Uses Cross-section of a whitebeam trunk These trees are often grown in parks and large gardens. The cultivars A. edulis 'Lutescens'[4] and A. edulis 'Majestica' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society 's Award of Garden Merit .[5]
The tough, hard wood is a deep orange when wet, and pale yellow after drying.[citation needed ]
The fruit is edible, but only when nearly rotten.[6]
Taxonomy The following species are recognised in the genus Aria :[7]
Aria arvonicola (P.D.Sell) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria avonensis (T.C.G.Rich) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria baldaccii (C.K.Schneid.) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria busambarensis (G.Castellano, P.Marino, Raimondo & Spadaro) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria cambrensis (M.Proctor) Sennikov & Kurtto - Welsh whitebeamAria cheddarensis (L.Houston & Ashley Robertson) Sennikov & Kurtto - Cheddar whitebeamAria colchica (Zinserl.) Mezhenskyj Aria collina (M.Lepší, P.Lepší & N.Mey.) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria cucullifera (M.Lepší & P.Lepší) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria danubialis (Jáv.) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria edulis (Willd.) M.Roem. Aria eminens (E.F.Warb.) Sennikov & Kurtto - Round-leaved whitebeamAria eminentiformis (T.C.G.Rich) Sennikov & Kurtto - Doward whitebeamAria eminentoides (L.Houston) Sennikov & Kurtto - Twin Cliffs whitebeamAria evansii (T.C.G.Rich) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria graeca (Lodd. ex Spach) M.Roem. - Balkan whitebeamAria greenii (T.C.G.Rich) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria herefordensis (D.Green) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria hibernica (E.F.Warb.) Sennikov & Kurtto - Irish whitebeamAria hungarica (Bornm.) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria javorkana (Somlyay, Sennikov & Vojtkó) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria keszthelyensis (Somlyay & Sennikov) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria lancastriensis (E.F.Warb.) Sennikov & Kurtto - Lancastrian whitebeamAria leighensis (T.C.G.Rich) Sennikov & Kurtto - Leigh Woods whitebeamAria × leptophylla (E.F.Warb.) Sennikov & Kurtto - Thin-leaved whitebeamAria madoniensis (Raimondo, G.Castellano, Bazan & Schicchi) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria margaretae (M.Proctor) Sennikov & Kurtto - Margaret's whitebeamAria meridionalis (Guss. ex Tod.) Raimondo & Greuter Aria moravica (M.Lepší & P.Lepší) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria obtusifolia (Ser.) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria orbiculata (Gabrieljan) Gabrieljan Aria pannonica (Kárpáti) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria parviloba (T.C.G.Rich) Sennikov & Kurtto - Ship Rock whitebeamAria phitosiana Raimondo & Greuter Aria pontis-satanae (M.Lepší & P.Lepší) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria porrigentiformis (E.F.Warb.) Sennikov & Kurtto - Grey-leaved whitebeamAria richii (L.Houston) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria × robertsonii (T.C.G.Rich) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria rupicola (Syme) Mezhenskyj - Rock whitebeamAria rupicoloides (L.Houston & T.G.C.Rich) Sennikov & Kurtto - Gough's Rock whitebeamAria saxicola (T.C.G.Rich) Sennikov & Kurtto - Symonds Yat whitebeamAria spectans (L.Houston) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria stankovii (Juz.) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria stenophylla (M.Proctor) Sennikov & Kurtto - Llanthony whitebeamAria stirtoniana (T.C.G.Rich) Sennikov & Kurtto - Stirton's whitebeamAria subdanubialis (Soó) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria taurica (Zinserl.) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria tergestina (H.Lindb.) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria thaiszii (Soó) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria thayensis (M.Lepší & P.Lepší) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria ujhelyii (Somlyay & Sennikov) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria ulmifolia (Kárpáti) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria umbellata (Desf.) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria vajdae (Boros) Sennikov & Kurtto Aria vexans (E.F.Warb.) Sennikov & Kurtto - Bloody whitebeamAria whiteana (T.C.G.Rich & L.Houston) Sennikov & Kurtto - White's whitebeamAria wilmottiana (E.F.Warb.) Sennikov & Kurtto - Wilmott's whitebeamAria yuarguta H.Ohashi & Iketani Aria zolyomii (Soó) Sennikov & Kurtto
References ^ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants . United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965 .^ Meredith, G. (1851). Love in the valley. Line 207. Poems ^ Hopkins, Gerar Manley (1918). The starlight night. Line 6. ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Sorbus aria 'Lutescens'". Retrieved 4 June 2013 . ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Sorbus aria 'Majestica'". Retrieved 4 June 2013 . ^ Trust, Woodland. "Whitebeam (Sorbus aria) - British Trees". Woodland Trust . Retrieved 2024-07-11 . ^ "Aria (Pers.) J.Jacq. ex Host | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 2023-09-12 .