Whitebeam

Description

The whitebeam is a small deciduous tree in the family Rosaceae, usually 6 to 15 metres tall. Its most recognisable feature is its foliage: oval, toothed leaves, dull green above and covered beneath with a dense silvery-white down, so that the whole crown seems to shimmer in the wind. In spring it bears flat clusters of small white flowers; in autumn rounded berries ripen in bunches, from red to orange.

Habitat and distribution

It is widespread across much of Europe, especially on hills and in the mountains. It favours limestone, well-drained, sunny soils, and grows in open woodland, along the edges of clearings and on rocky slopes, often alongside beech and oak. It is a tough, undemanding species.

Cultivation

It is a valued ornamental for its silvery foliage and autumn fruit, suited even to small gardens thanks to its slow growth and modest size. It wants full sun or part shade and copes well with drought, poor and chalky soils, urban pollution and cold. Once established it needs very little care.

Fruit and uses

The berries are edible: sharp and astringent when just ripe, they turn sweet and mealy after the first frosts or once bletted, and were once used for jams and spirits. They are much liked by birds, which spread the seeds.

Did you know?

Both the English name 'whitebeam' (white tree) and the Italian 'farinaccio' (mealy) refer to the white, floury underside of the leaves. Long classified as Sorbus aria, the species is today placed by many botanists in the genus Aria.