Here are two photographs of Sorbus setschwanensis, taken a month apart. I returned to photograph this plant a second time as I felt my first picture lacked a range of colour. More than made up for by the second image!
If you’ve ever walked UBC Botanical Garden’s David C. Lam Asian Garden, you’ve encountered a different Sorbus species around nearly every corner (even if you didn’t know it at the time). Sorbus setschwanensis is one of nearly eighty different kinds of Sorbus growing at UBC. Many are trees, but Sorbus setschwanensis is a shrubby species; it can be found on the west side of Meyer Glade. At first, it didn’t seem to resemble a mountain ash due to the small leaflets and few berries. When the leaves were still green, the branches with their imparipinnate leaf arrangements slightly resembled the fronds of ferns to my first glance. Here’s a photograph I took that day to compare with a fern frond, to show the odd resemblance. The fantastic autumn colors in the leaves were a welcoming surprise when I revisited the plant.
Sorbus setschwanensis is a shrub native to the Sichuan and Guizhou provinces of China. These shrubs reach a height of 2 to 5m (6-16 ft.). According to the Flora of China, the species grows at elevations of 2300m to 3000m (7500-10000 ft.) in mixed forests and on stony slopes. White fruits (pomes) appear in small clusters at the end of summer, though on this plant, clustered was a very generous term. I had a choice of perhaps three of four fruits that were visible and close enough to include in a photo. As an uncommon species in cultivation, it lacks a common name. It is known from only a few gardens around the world.
Lovely and the color change is very instructive. I am unable to view the photo (link in paragraph 2, penultimate sentence) that shows the comparison to the fern. (Need to sign in! Not authorized!) IF possible, could you please correct that? Thanks.
My mistake, I corrected it! Sorry about that.
Probably I’m the only one who never heard the term before, but just in case: “imparipinnate” means odd-pinnate, or “pinnate with an odd terminal leaflet.” Not only that but I didn’t know there were white-fruited Sorbus. Thanks for this enlightening post!
beautiful pictures and I hope someday I can come see all the eighty(!) Sorbus at the Garden!
Does anyone know why the species name is spelled with all those Germanic consonants in stead of “sichuanensis”?
The plant was first botanically described as a variety of Sorbus vilmorini by the botanist Camillo Karl Schneider in German and Latin, though he seems to have left out the z in Szetschwan. Here is the original description:
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/413265#page/489/mode/1up
Thank you Pat, for both the explanation/clarification and for the link to the Biodiversity Heritage Library. What a great resource!
Wow — fantastic! This is why the plant world can be so compelling, particularly from a phenological point of view!
Are any of the plants in this genus edible? The name Sorbus makes me think of sweetener…
Many species are edible, though perhaps not particularly palatable without some additional processing (e.g., into jams).