Hedlundia schwarziana, or Schwarz's whitebeam,Blaich, G. (n.d.). Sorbus schwarziana N.MEY. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://guenther-blaich.de/pflseite.php?par=Sorbus+schwarziana&abs=pflfmros&lan=x&grp=a is an apomictic speciesSorbus schwarziana N. Mey. Schwarz’ Mehlbeere. (n.d.). Botanischer Informationsknoten Bayern. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://daten.bayernflora.de/de/info_pflanzen.php?taxnr=26252 of tree in the family Rosaceae endemic to Bavaria, Germany.Hedlundia schwarziana (N.Mey.) Sennikov & Kurtto. (n.d.). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77164923-1 It is extremely rareSorbus schwarziana N. Mey. (2026, April 14). Rote Liste Zentrum. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://www.rote-liste-zentrum.de/en/detailseite/?species_uuid=c349a9ea-6cba-4431-9192-bea011f5ea6f&species_organismGroup=Farn-%20und%20Bl%C3%BCtenpflanzen&q=sorbus and threatened with extinction.
Description
Vegetative characteristics Hedlundia schwarziana is an up to 4–7 m tall shrub or tree. The leaves have 9–11 pairs of lateral veins. The abaxial leaf surface is pubescent with greyish green hairs. Generative characteristics The flowers have 2–3 styles. The red, ovoid, 1 cm long fruit bears very small, scattered lenticels.Meyer, T. (n.d.). Schwarz- Mehlbeere (Sorbus schwarziana N. Meyer). Blumen in Schwaben. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://www.blumeninschwaben.de/Zweikeimblaettrige/Rosengewaechse/lappen_stumpf.htm#Schwarz-%20Mehlbeere Cytology The chromosome count is 2n = 3x = 51. It is triploid.Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung. (n.d.). Sorbus schwarziana N. Mey. Chromosomenzahlen Zur Flora Von Deutschland. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://chromosomes.senckenberg.de/item/20976
Taxonomy It was first described as Sorbus schwarziana by Norbert Meyer in 2005.Sorbus schwarziana N.Mey. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved September 10, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77070660-1 It was moved to the genus Hedlundia as Hedlundia schwarziana by Alexander Nikolaevitsch Sennikov and Arto Kurtto in 2017.Sennikov, A. N., & Kurtto, A. (2017). A phylogenetic checklist of Sorbus s.l. (Rosaceae) in Europe. Memoranda Societatis pro Fauna et Flora Fennica, 93, 1-78.Hedlundia schwarziana (N.Mey.) Sennikov & Kurtto. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved September 10, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77164923-1 The type specimen was collected on the 1st of July 2001 by N. Meyer and O. Angerer on a rock hill in grasslands southwest of Frechetsfeld, Bavaria, Germany. Etymology The specific epithet schwarziana honours the German botanist Otto Karl Anton Schwarz.
Distribution and habitat Hedlundia schwarziana is endemic to Bavaria in Germany, where it occurs in a small area of only 1 km2 on the edges of deciduous forest at elevations of 500–600 m above sea level.
Conservation It is a critically endangered species with a small population of fewer than ten known mature trees restricted to a very small area. Hedlundia schwarziana is cultivated in ex situ conservation collections in botanic gardens,Sorbus schwarziana N.Mey. (n.d.-b). BGCI PlantSearch. Retrieved September 10, 2026, from https://plantsearch.bgci.org/taxon/192427Sorbus schwarziana (Schwarz-Mehlbeere). (n.d.). Verband Botanischer Gärten. Retrieved September 10, 2026, from https://www.verband-botanischer-gaerten.de/Pflanzenarten-Erhaltungskulturen.php such as the Botanischer Garten der Universität Erlangen and the Botanischer Garten der Universität Regensburg.
References