Aria schnizleiniana, or Schnizlein's whitebeam,Blaich, G. (n.d.). Sorbus schnizleiniana N.MEY. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://guenther-blaich.de/pflseite.php?par=Sorbus+schnizleiniana&abs=pflfmros&lan=x&grp=a is an apomictic speciesSorbus schnizleiniana N. Mey. Schnizlein-Mehlbeere. (n.d.). Botanischer Informationsknoten Bayern. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://daten.bayernflora.de/de/info_pflanzen.php?taxnr=26246 of tree in the family Rosaceae endemic to Bavaria, Germany.Aria schnizleiniana (N.Mey.) Mosyakin, Fedor. & McNeill. (n.d.). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77371517-1 It is extremely rareSorbus schnizleiniana N. Mey. (2026, January 14). Rote Liste Zentrum. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://www.rote-liste-zentrum.de/detailseite/?species_uuid=a9579c26-210c-4569-8810-086f3b2b2027&species_organismGroup=Farn-%20und%20Bl%C3%BCtenpflanzen&q=Sorbus%20schnizleiniana%20 and threatened with extinction.
Description Vegetative characteristics Aria schnizleiniana is an up to 12 m tall tree. The ovate, petiolate leaves of the short twigs have 8–9 pairs of lateral veins, which are set 5 mm apart. The leaf base is cuneate. The petiole is 13–20 mm long. The larger leaves of the long twigs have 9–11 pairs of lateral veins. The abaxial leaf surface is pubescent with grey hair.Meyer, T. (n.d.). Schnizleins Mehlbeere (Sorbus schnizleiniana N. Meyer). Blumen in Schwaben. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://www.blumeninschwaben.de/Zweikeimblaettrige/Rosengewaechse/nuernberg.htm#Schnitzleins%20Mehlbeere Generative characteristics The inflorescence bears 50–60 flowers with 2 partially fused styles. The pyriform, red, 12–14 mm long accessory fruit bears numerous lenticels. Cytology The chromosome count is 2n = 3x = 51. It is triploid.Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung. (n.d.). Sorbus schnizleiniana N. Mey. Chromosomenzahlen Zur Flora Von Deutschland. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://chromosomes.senckenberg.de/item/20977
Taxonomy It was first described as Sorbus schnizleiniana by Norbert Meyer in 2005.Sorbus schnizleiniana N.Mey. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77070665-1 It was moved to the genus Aria as Aria schnizleiniana 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 schnizleiniana (N.Mey.) Mosyakin, Fedor. & McNeill. (n.d.-b). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77371517-1 The type specimen was collected by N. Meyer and O. Angerer in a forest edge near Neukirchen on the 1 July 2001. Etymology The specific epithet schnizleiniana honours the German botanist Adalbert Schnizlein.
Distribution and habitat It is endemic to a single small area of less than 4 km2 in Neukirchen bei Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Bavaria, Germany, where it occurs in pine forest, on the edges of deciduous forest, and on rock ledges at elevations of 480–520 m above sea level.
Ecology Birds eat the fruit.Grau, C. G. (2021, May 22). Heimat für seltene Baumart im Tiergarten Nürnberg. Nordbayern. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://www.nordbayern.de/nuernberg/heimat-fur-seltene-baumart-im-tiergarten-nurnberg-1.11085935
Conservation Aria schnizleiniana is a critically endangered species with a small but stable population of 20–40 mature trees that are restricted to a single area. It doesn't have special legal protection.BfN - Bundesamt für Naturschutz. (n.d.). Sorbus schnizleiniana N. Mey. (Schnizlein-Mehlbeere). FloraWeb. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://www.floraweb.de/php/artenhome.php?name-use-id=26246 It is cultivated in the ex situ conservation collections of the Nuremberg Zoo,Schnizleins Mehlbeere für den Tiergarten. (2021, May 19). Tiergarten Nürnberg. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://tiergarten.nuernberg.de/entdecken/aktuell/detail/news/2021-05-19-schnizleins-mehlbeere-fuer-den-tiergarten Botanical Garden Erlangen Botanischer Garten der Universität Regensburg, and in the private collection of Karsten Horn.Botanische Gärten und andere Halter. (n.d.). Verband Botanischer Gärten. Retrieved October 6, 2026, from https://www.verband-botanischer-gaerten.de/Arbeitsgruppen/Botanischer_Artenschutz/Botanische_Gaerten_und_andere_Halter.html
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