#142 TRUE SERVICE TREE
Sorbus domestica subsp. pyrifera
This tree can be found at the west end of the Central Path, on its north side.
County Champion
| Distribution: | Native to south-east Europe and eastwards to Caucasus and north Africa |
| Planting Date: | 1921 |
| Appearance: | The true service tree is a deciduous, broad-leaved tree with pinnate leaves, rather rowan-like in shape. |
| Flowers: | Appear in late April and early May, are pale pink in colour |
| Fruit: | Fruits are pear shaped, circa. 2 cm to 3 cm long and green, brown or reddish in colour. |
| Tree height and girth in 2023 | Height 19 m and girth 117 cm |
| Anecdotes and Comments | Grown from seed given to Mr Hammond by W J Bean curator at Royal Botanic Garden, Kew from a tree that could be a direct descendant of a 1678 specimen in the Wyre forest of Shropshire. See also #125 Rated County champion in 2023 by height by The Tree Register Similar to #93 but pear form |