Hedlundia thuringiaca (German service-tree; syn. Sorbus × thuringiaca) is a hybrid species of small tree or shrub. It occurs through direct hybridisation between the parents where they occur together, but also produces small amounts of viable seed producing second and subsequent generation hybrids.
Description It is a small tree growing to 10–15 metres tall, with dull grey bark, which is smooth but begins cracking and flaking as it matures. The leaves are narrowly ovate to elliptic (in shape) long and wide. They are semi-pinnate, lobed, except at the very tip, the lobes become deeper towards the base with the basal one to four pairs of lobes forming separate leaflets, with toothed margins. The leaves are glossy dark green above and grey and hairy underneath. In late spring, it flowers with dense clusters of 5 petaled white flowers, which are wide. After flowering, it produces a rounded, bright red berry which is wide.Allen Coombes
Taxonomy It is a diploid hybrid between Sorbus aucuparia and the diploid Aria edulis. It is rare in the wild but occurs at scattered sites across much of EuropeChester, M.; Cowan, R.S.; Fay, M.F.; Rich, T.C.G. (2007). Parentage of endemic Sorbus L. (Rosaceae) species in the British Isles: evidence from plastid DNA. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 154(3): 291–304. (within Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Romania and Switzerland,) and Turkey.
Cultivation It is often cultivated as an ornamental tree, where it is usually propagated by grafting, including the named cultivars 'Fastigiata' (with erect branches) and 'Leonard Springer' (with larger, 15 mm fruit). It has been introduced in Belgium and Illinois, US.
It was first published in Memoranda Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 93: 34 in 2017.
GRIN (United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service) accepts it as ×Hedlundia thuringiaca .
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