Aria herbipolitana, the Wuerzburg whitebeam,Blaich, G. (n.d.). Sorbus herbipolitana MEIEROTT. Retrieved September 25, 2026, from https://guenther-blaich.de/pflseite.php?par=Sorbus+herbipolitana&abs=pflfmros&lan=x&grp=a is an apomictic speciesSorbus herbipolitana Meierott Würzburger Mehlbeere. (n.d.). Botanischer Informationsknoten Bayern. Retrieved September 25, 2026, from https://daten.bayernflora.de/de/info_pflanzen.php?taxnr=26238 of tree in the family Rosaceae endemic to Bavaria, Germany.Aria herbipolitana (Meierott) Mosyakin, Fedor. & McNeill. (n.d.-b). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved September 25, 2026, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77371549-1 It is extremely rareSorbus herbipolitana Meierott. (2026, April 14). Rote Liste Zentrum. Retrieved September 25, 2026, from https://www.rote-liste-zentrum.de/en/detailseite/?species_uuid=1703aea1-8024-4fef-b3db-7269fa89210a and threatened with extinction.
Description
Vegetative characteristics Aria herbipolitana is a 5–6 m tall shrub or tree. The elliptic leaves of the short twigs with a serrate margin are 8–9 cm long and have 11–12 pairs of lateral veins. The leaves of the long twigs are rounded to ovate. The abaxial leaf surface is pubescent with grey hairs. In autumn, the foliage turns greenish to yellow.Meyer, T. (n.d.). Würzburger Mehlbeere (Sorbus herbipolitana Meierott). Blumen in Schwaben. Retrieved September 25, 2026, from https://www.blumeninschwaben.de/Zweikeimblaettrige/Rosengewaechse/blatt_unregel.htm#W%C3%BCrzburger%20Mehlbeere Generative characteristics The petals are white. The styles are basally fused. The globose accessory fruit is reddish orange. Cytology The chromosome count is 2n = 3x = 51.Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung. (n.d.). Sorbus herbipolitana Meierott. Chromosomenzahlen Zur Flora Von Deutschland. Retrieved September 25, 2026, from https://chromosomes.senckenberg.de/item/14164
Taxonomy It was first described as Sorbus herbipolitana by Lenz Meierott in 2005.Sorbus herbipolitana Meierott. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved September 25, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77070673-1 It was moved to the genus Aria as Aria herbipolitana by Sergei Leonidovich Mosyakin, Mykola Mykhaylovych Fedoronchuk, and John McNeill in 2025.Mosyakin, S. L., Fedoronchuk, M. M., & McNEILL, J. (2025). Simplifying the nomenclature of Sorbus sensu lato: new nomenclatural solutions in Aria and Hedlundia (Rosaceae). Ukrainian Botanical Journal, 82(3), 206-224.Aria herbipolitana (Meierott) Mosyakin, Fedor. & McNeill. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved September 25, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77371549-1 The type specimen was collected on the 8th of May 2003 by N. Meyer, L. Meierott, and O. Angerer near Greußenheim, Bavaria, Germany. Etymology The specific epithet herbipolitana means "from Würzburg".
Distribution and habitat It is endemic to Bavaria, Germany, where it occurs in open pine forest and on the edges of deciduous forest at elevations of 250–320 m above sea level.
Conservation It is a critically endangered species with a small population of only 35 saplings and 40 mature trees. It has a scattered distribution spanning an area of 240 km2. The area of occupancy is only 76 km2. It doesn't have special legal protections.BfN - Bundesamt für Naturschutz. (n.d.). Sorbus herbipolitana Meierott (Würzburger Mehlbeere). FloraWeb. Retrieved September 25, 2026, from https://www.floraweb.de/php/artenhome.php?name-use-id=26238 It is cultivated in one ex situ conservation collection.Sorbus herbipolitana Meierott. (n.d.). BGCI PlantSearch. Retrieved September 25, 2026, from https://plantsearch.bgci.org/taxon/234883
References