Aria rupicola

(Redirected from Rock Whitebeam)

Aria rupicola, commonly known as rock whitebeam,[1] is a rare species of shrub or small tree best known from the British Isles but also reported from Norway, Sweden and Russia.[2]

Aria rupicola
Rock whitebeam at the Trondheimsfjord, Norway
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Aria
Species:
A. rupicola
Binomial name
Aria rupicola
(Syme) Mezhenskyj
Synonyms
List
  • Pyrus aria subsp. rupicola Syme
  • Pyrus rupicola (Syme) Bab.
  • Sorbus rupicola (Syme) Hedl.
  • Sorbus scandica subsp. rupicola (Syme) Nyman
  • Pyrus aria proles salicifolia (Myrin) Asch. & Graebn.
  • Sorbus aria var. salicifolia Myrin
  • Sorbus aria subsp. salicifolia (Myrin) Hedl.
  • Sorbus salicifolia (Myrin) Prain

Reaching heights of 10 m,[3] it grows in rocky woodland, scrub and cliffs, usually on limestone.[3]

The species reproduces apomictically (asexually via cloned seeds) and was presumably created by autopolyploidysation of the common whitebeam proper (Sorbus aria s.str.). It contains a tetraploidal set of chromosomes (2n=4x=68).

Stace gives Aria rupicola the following characteristics:[3]

  • Leaves unlobed or lobed ≤1/20 of the way to the midrib.
  • Leaves with a single style of teeth or, weakly, two styles of teeth.
  • Leaves with 6 to 9 (rarely 4 to 10) pairs of lateral veins.
  • Leaves mostly 1.6 to 2.4 times longer than wide.
  • Leaves mostly widest in that half of the leaf furthest from the stalk.
  • Leaves usually obtuse (rarely acute) at apex.
  • Leaves have dense white hairs on lower surface.
  • Fruits 10-15mm across, warty.

References edit

  1. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. ^ "Ecological flora of the British Isles: Sorbus rupicola". Retrieved 2010-07-17.
  3. ^ a b c New Flora of the British Isles; Clive Stace; Third edition; 2011 printing

Further reading edit

External links edit