| Sorbus hupehensis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Sorbus |
| Subgenus: | Sorbus |
| Species: | S. hupehensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Sorbus hupehensis C.K.Schneid. |
|
Sorbus hupehensis (Hubei Rowan or Hupeh Rowan; Chinese: 湖北花楸 hu bei hua qiu) is a species of rowan native to central and western China.[1]
It is a small deciduous tree growing to 5–10 m tall, with grey-brown to purplish-brown bark. The branches and shoots are slender. The leaves are green above, paler beneath, 10–15 cm long, pinnate with 7-17 narrow oval leaflets 3–5 cm long and 1–1.8 cm broad, with an acute apex, and serrated margins. They change to orange or red in autumn. The flowers are 5–7 mm diameter, with five white petals and 20 yellowish-white stamens; they are produced in corymbs 6–10 cm diameter in late spring to early summer. The fruit is a pome 5–8 mm diameter, bright pink with persistent sepals, maturing in late autumn.[1]
It is grown as an ornamental tree, valued for its white fruit contrasting with the orange autumn colour.
In cultivation, it has often been confused with the related Sorbus glabrescens (White-fruited Rowan) and Sorbus oligodonta (Kite-leaf Rowan) from southwestern China. The former differs in being a larger tree (to 15 m) with stouter shoots and larger leaves, the latter in having pale pink fruit; both are tetraploid apomictic species which breed true. The cultivar 'Pink Pagoda', often cited as belonging to S. hupehensis, is of S. oligodonta.[2]