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Sorbus hemsleyi

(C.K.Schneid.) Rehder

Rosaceae Edible: Fruit

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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Sorbus hemsleyi is a species of whitebeam native to central China. It is a small, erect deciduous tree to 4 m (13 ft) in height, with grey-green leaves and white flowers followed by brown fruit. The fruit are a major component of the diet of the yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula). The cultivar 'John Bond' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit as an ornamental.

Description

A shrub or small tree. It grows 7-10 m tall. The leaves are simple and narrowly oval. They are 5-11 cm long by 3-6 cm wide. The flowers are in compound groups at the ends of the branches. These are 3-4 cm long by 4-5 cm wide. There are 20-30 flowers in a group. The flowers are about 1 cm across. The fruit is a flattened round shape and 5-8 mm across.

Edible Uses

The fruit is eaten raw.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a temperate plant. It grows on slopes in dry forests and in evergreen broad-leaved forests between 900-3,200 m above sea level. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Asia, China,

Production

In China plants flower in May and June and fruit in July to September.

Synonyms

Aria hemsleyi (C. K. Schneid.) H. Ohashi & IketaniAria xanthoneura (Rehder) H. Ohashi & IketaniMicromeles hemsleyi C. K. Schneid.Micromeles schwerinii C. K. Schndei.Pyrus hemsleyi (C. K. Schneid.) CardotPyrus henryi (Rehder) CardotPyrus koehnei H. L,v.Pyrus xanthoneura (Rehdner) CardotSorbus henryi RehderSorbus xanthoneura Rehder

Also Known As

Emaiji, Huang mai hua qiu

References (3)

  • Geng, Y., et al, 2016, Traditional knowledge and its transmission of wild edibles used by the Naxi in Baidi Village, northwest Yunnan province. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 12:10
  • Kang, Y., et al, 2014, Wild food plants used by the Tibetans of Gongba Valley (Zouqu country, Gansu, China) Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 10:20 (As Sorbus xanthoneura)
  • www.efloras.org Flora of China Volume 9

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