This is an introduced Whitebeam from south west Europe and obviously a member of the latifolia aggregate. The fruits of trees in this Sorbus group have and orange/brown colour and in the case of S. latifolia it has flattened fruits (subglobose) with a varying number of lenticels (little white scabs on the berries).

The leaves have acute lobes like other members of the aggregate and in this case they are acute - the lowers lobes can be almost triangular in shape. Overall the leaf is about as broad as wide hence the vernacular name. The basal half of the leaf is usually wider than the apical. There are usually 7 to 9 pairs of veins.

The tree itself can be tall - up to 20m in height. This tree is often planted in parks and gardens but hasn't escaped to a great extent in the wild. There is a concentration around the London area but otherwise sites are scattered with very few in Scotland or Ireland.

Leigh Woods, Avon Gorge 10th September 2006

Added on 28th September 2006, updated 10th February 2012