Sorbus pseudohupehensis McAll.

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Credits

Article from New Trees by John Grimshaw & Ross Bayton

Recommended citation
'Sorbus pseudohupehensis' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/sorbus/sorbus-pseudohupehensis/). Accessed 2024-04-17.

Genus

Sorbus

Synonyms

S. hupehensis hort. non C.K. Schneid. (pink-fruited form)
S. hupehensis var. obtusa C.K. Schneid.
S. laxiflora Koehne
S. oligodonta hort. non (Cardot) Hand.-Mazz.
S. wilsoniana hort. non C.K. Schneid.

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

microspecies: Species distinguished on the basis of minute differences of morphology. Generally used only for species that reproduce via apomixis (e.g. Sorbus).

References

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Credits

Article from New Trees by John Grimshaw & Ross Bayton

Recommended citation
'Sorbus pseudohupehensis' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/sorbus/sorbus-pseudohupehensis/). Accessed 2024-04-17.

Sorbus pseudohupehensis colouring well (RHS Garden Harlow Carr, Harrogate, UK, October 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Tree to 15 m. Branchlets deep red. Buds ~1.2 cm, conical to ovoid with reddish brown and/or white hairs on the margins and apices of the scales. Leaves to 17.5 cm long, with five to seven pairs of leaflets. Leaflets to 4.4 × 1.7 cm, gradually decreasing in length towards the stem, obovate, bluish green glaucous above, papillose beneath; in autumn, leaves turning dark chocolate then brilliant red colour. Inflorescences pyramidal. Fruit very hard, 0.7 × 0.8 cm, white flushed with crimson; sepals very fleshy, carpels four to five. Tetraploid apomict (2n = 68). McAllister 2005a. Distribution CHINA: Yunnan (Lijiang). Habitat Mountain thickets. USDA Hardiness Zone 7. Conservation status Not evaluated. Illustration McAllister 2005a. Cross-references B431–432 (as S. hupehensis), K335 (as S. hupehensis var. obtusa).

As discussed above (pp. 797, 804), Sorbus pseudohupehensis has long been known as S. hupehensis (pink-fruited form) or as S. hupehensis var. obtusa, and still appears in some recent literature as S. oligodonta (Wharton et al. 2005), but should now be known under its new name. It is an extremely familiar tree, widely grown for its blue-green leaves and persistent pinkish fruits that give a wonderful display long into the winter after the tree has dropped its red autumn plumage. As with S. glabriuscula, this is seen best against a dark background. It can develop the unfortunate habit of becoming biennial-fruiting, like some apples; a number of its allies are more reliable in this regard, and have equally good effect, but are not likely to supplant it in popularity. So-called selections such as ‘Pink Pagoda’ are identical to every other member of the microspecies. As with all apomictic Sorbus, it should be grown from seed to ensure the most attractively shaped and vigorous trees. Its origin is believed to have been seed gathered in the Lijiang range of Yunnan by George Forrest in the early 1920s, but it is not now attributable with certainty to any particular collection (McAllister 2005a).

A particularly shapely Sorbus pseudohupehensis 10.6 m tall at Winkworth Arboretum, Surrey, UK, on 19 August 2023. This biennial fruiter is better able than most rowans to tolerate the frequently hot and dry summers of south-eastern England. Image Owen Johnson.

Sorbus pseudohupehensis with the leaves somewhat glaucous green and the leaflets obovate to ovate, toothed only in the upper half. The Place For Plants, Essex, UK, late August 2023. Image Bob Askew.

Sorbus pseudohupehensis at The Place For Plants, Essex, UK, late August 2023. At this early stage the fruits are only just beginning to show colour. Image Bob Askew.

Sorbus pseudohupehensis at The Place For Plants, Essex, UK, late August 2023. Image Bob Askew.

Foliage on Sorbus pseudohupehensis, from a tree at Ness Botanical Gardens, UK (23 August 2016). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Reddish conical bud on Sorbus pseudohupehensis, with the scales brownish and/or whitish pubescent (Ness Botanical Gardens, UK – 23 August 2016). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Obovate leaflets toothed in their upper portion only on Sorbus pseudohupehensis (Ness Botanical Gardens, UK – 23 August 2016). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Sorbus pseudohupehensis has kite-shaped, blue-green leaves (Ness Botanical Gardens, UK – 23 August 2016). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Infructescense on Sorbus pseudohupehensis (Ness Botanical Gardens, UK – 23 August 2016). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Colouring fruit on Sorbus pseudohupehensis (Ness Botanical Gardens, UK – 23 August 2016). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Sorbus pseudohupehensis fruit in early November, in a suburban garden in southeast Northumberland, UK. Image Michael Frankis.