#86 SWEDISH WHITEBEAM
Scandosorbus intermedia
Planted: 1913
This tree is at the junction of the Moat Path and Viburnum Walk, near the Edward Road fence.
| Distribution: | Nordic countries, where the tree grows in forests, pastures or forest edges. Frequently naturalised in the British Isles. |
| Planting Date: | 1913 |
| Bought from: | J Cheal and Sons, Lowfield Nurseries, Crawley, East Sussex |
| Growth Habit: | It is a medium-sized deciduous tree, the crown is dome-shaped, with stout horizontal branches. |
| Bark: | Grey |
| Leaf: | Green above, and densely hairy with pale grey-white hairs beneath. 7 to 12 cm long and 5 to 7 cm wide. Four to seven oval lobes on each side of the leaf, broadest near the middle, rounded at the apex, and finely serrated margins. The autumn colour is dull yellowish to grey-brown. |
| Flowers: | 15 to 20 mm diameter, with five white petals and 20 yellowish-white stamens. Produced in corymbs 8 to 12 cm diameter, in late spring |
| Fruit: | Oval pome 15 mm long and 10 mm in diameter, orange-red to red, maturing in mid-autumn. The fruit is dryish; eaten by thrushes and waxwings who disperse the seeds |
| Ultimate height: | 10 to 20 m tall with a stout trunk |
| Uses: | Widely grown as an ornamental tree in northern Europe. Valued for its tolerance of urban street conditions. |
| Introduction Date: | Not known |
| Anecdotes and Comments: | Scandosorbus intermedia was, formerly, Sorbus intermedia A triple hybrid between Sorbus aucuparia, Sorbus torminalis, and either Sorbus aria or one of its close relatives. It is closely related to Hedlundia hybrida (Finnish whitebeam, formerly Sorbus hybrida), another species of hybrid origin, which differs in having the leaves more deeply lobed, with the basal two pairs cut right to the midrib as separate leaflets. Both are tetraploid apomictic species which breed true without pollination. |