Service Tree
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| Sorbus domestica L. |
The Service Tree (Sorbus domestica) is sometimes known as the True Service Tree to distinguish it from the Wild Service Tree. It is native to western and southern Europe (north to south Wales), northwest Africa, and southwest Asia. It is generally rare, being listed as an endangered species in Switzerland and Austria, and uncommon in Spain. Its name is unrelated to the English word service, and derived instead from its Latin name sorbus.[1]
In the UK, one very old tree that existed in the Wyre Forest before being destroyed in 1862 used to be considered native, but there is no definite evidence for this tree being wild. More recently, a small population of genuinely wild specimens was found growing as stunted shrubs on cliffs in south Wales and nearby southwest England (Hampton & Kay, 1995). It is not otherwise widely cultivated in the UK.
It is a very rare species in Britain, occurring at only a handful of sites. Its largest English population is within the Horseshoe Bend Site of Special Scientific Interest at Shirehampton, near Bristol.
The leaves are pinnate and consist of 13-21 leaflets. The unexceptional dull-white flowers appear in May and the fruit comes in two forms: apple-shaped (f. maliformis) and pear-shaped (f. pyriformis).
The fruit is a component of a cider-like drink which is still made in parts of Europe. Picked straight off the tree it tastes highly unpleasant.
The largest and perhaps oldest known specimen in Europe is near the town of Strážnice in the province of Moravia, Czech Republic. Its trunk measures 458 cm in circumference, with a crown 11m high and 18m across. It is estimated to be around 400 years old.
[edit] References
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, fourth edition.
- Mitchell, Alan F. [1974] (1978). A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe, 2nd edition, Collins. ISBN 0-00-219213-6.
- Hampton, M., Q. O. N. Kay (1995). "Sorbus domestica L., new to Wales and the British Isles". Watsonia 20 (4): 379-384. ISSN 0043-1532.
 details of a tree |
 young tree |
