| Aria rupicola | |
|---|---|
| |
| Rock whitebeam at the Trondheimsfjord, Norway | |
Scientific classification 
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| 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
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Aria rupicola, commonly known as rock whitebeam, is a rare species of shrub or small tree best known from the British Isles but also reported from Norway, Sweden and Russia.
Reaching heights of 10 m, it grows in rocky woodland, scrub and cliffs, usually on limestone.
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:
- 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.
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A young specimen
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Back of a leaf
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Upper surface of a leaf
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Upper surface of a leaf
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Twig and part of a leaf
References
- BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- "Ecological flora of the British Isles: Sorbus rupicola". Retrieved 2010-07-17.
- ^ New Flora of the British Isles; Clive Stace; Third edition; 2011 printing
Further reading
- Ennos, R. A.; G. C. French; P. M. Hollingsworth (2005). "Conserving taxonomic complexity". Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 20 (4): 164–168. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2005.01.012. PMID 16701363.
- Robertson, A.; A. C. Newton; R. A. Ennos (2004). "Multiple hybrid origins, genetic diversity and population genetic structure of two endemic Sorbus taxa on the Isle of Arran, Scotland". Molecular Ecology. 13 (1): 123–134. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294X.2003.02025.x. PMID 14653794. S2CID 38956138.
External links
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Aria rupicola | |
| Sorbus rupicola |
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