Hedlundia hohenesteri, the Hohenester's whitebeam,Blaich, G. (n.d.). Sorbus hohenesteri N.MEY. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://guenther-blaich.de/pflseite.php?par=Sorbus+hohenesteri&abs=pflfmros&lan=x&grp=a is an apomictic speciesSorbus hohenesteri N. Mey. Hohenester-Mehlbeere. (n.d.). Botanischer Informationsknoten Bayern. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://daten.bayernflora.de/de/info_pflanzen.php?taxnr=26250 of tree in the family Rosaceae endemic to Bavaria, Germany.Hedlundia hohenesteri (N.Mey.) Sennikov & Kurtto. (n.d.). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77164921-1 It is extremely rare and threatened with extinction.Sorbus hohenesteri N. Mey. (2026, January 14). Rote Liste Zentrum. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://www.rote-liste-zentrum.de/detailseite/?species_uuid=46c2c652-ef92-488c-bd19-7efdf241edd7Poschlod, P., & Debus, V. (2025). Regensburgs Grünes Juwel: Ein Führer durch den Botanischen Garten der Universität - Wissenswertes zu Pflanzen, ihrer Geschichte und Heilwirkung. Regensburg; Universitätsbibliothek Regensburg.
Description
Vegetative characteristics Hedlundia hohenesteri is a small, deciduous, calcicolous, heliophilous, mostly multi-trunked, 1–5m tall tree with elongate to ovate, lobed leaves with 6–9 pairs of lateral veins. Some of the leaf lobes have an acute apex. The leaf lobes never reach the midrib. The adaxial leaf surface is glabrous and glossy. The abaxial leaf surface is pubescent with greyish green hairs.Meyer, T. (n.d.). Hohenesters Mehlbeere (Sorbus hohenesteri N. Meyer). Blumen in Schwaben. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://www.blumeninschwaben.de/Zweikeimblaettrige/Rosengewaechse/lappen_spitz.htm#Hohenesters%20Mehlbeere Generative characteristics The ovoid, 1 cm big fruit bears few to no lenticels. Cytology The chromosome count is 2n = 3x = 51. It is triploid.Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung. (n.d.). Sorbus hohenesteri N. Mey. Chromosomenzahlen Zur Flora Von Deutschland. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://chromosomes.senckenberg.de/item/20980
Taxonomy It was first described as Sorbus hohenesteri by Norbert Meyer in 2005.Sorbus hohenesteri N.Mey. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77070658-1 It was moved to the genus Hedlundia as Hedlundia hohenesteri 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 hohenesteri (N.Mey.) Sennikov & Kurtto. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77164921-1 It was discovered in 1992.Heinke, C. (2019, March 2). In een camper naar de oude ridders. Duitsland Magazine. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://duitsland-magazine.nl/in-een-camper-naar-de-oude-ridders/Höllerl, H. (2023, November 22). Die seltenste Baumart der Welt wächst in Oberfranken. Forst Praxis. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://www.forstpraxis.de/die-seltenste-baumart-der-welt-waechst-oberfranken-22563 Etymology The specific epithet hohenesteri honours the German botanist Adalbert Hohenester.
Distribution and habitat It is endemic to a single area of only 4 km2 near Leutenbach in Bavaria, Germany, where it occurs on rock ledges at an elevation of 480 m above sea level.
Conservation
Hedlundia hohenesteri is a critically endangered species with a small population of only 10 mature trees. Fences have been erected to protect Hedlundia hohenesteri against grazing animals. It doesn't have special legal protections.BfN - Bundesamt für Naturschutz. (n.d.). Sorbus hohenesteri N. Mey. (Hohenester-Mehlbeere). FloraWeb. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://www.floraweb.de/php/artenhome.php?suchnr=26250 It is cultivated in the ex situ conservation collections of the Botanical Garden Erlangen,Horn, K., Kerskes, a., & Welss, W. (2012). Erhaltungskulturen bedrohter Pflanzenarten im Botanischen Garten Erlangen — ein aktiver Beitrag zum Artenschutz. RegnitzFlora, Mitt. des VFR, 5, 39-46.Pflanzen-Sammlungen. (n.d.). Botanischer Garten Erlangen. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://www.botanischer-garten.fau.de/gaerten/botanischer_garten/gewaechshaeuser/farnwald-gewaechshaus/ in the Nuremberg Zoo,Tiergarten schützt bedrohte heimische Baumarten. (2021, July 29). Tiergarten Nürnberg. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://tiergarten.nuernberg.de/presse/detail/news/2021-07-29-tiergarten-schuetzt-bedrohte-heimische-baumarten and in the Botanischer Garten der Universität Regensburg.Geschichte des Botanischen Gartens und seinen Vorgängern. (n.d.). Universität Regensburg. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://www.uni-regensburg.de/biologie-vorklinische-medizin/forschen/arbeitsgruppen/ag-pflanzenoekologie/botanischer-garten/infos-zum-garten
References