Rowan some countries, but "Sorbus domestica", for example, has largely vanished from Britain, where it was traditionally appreciated. Natural hybrids, often including "Sorbus aucuparia" and the whitebeam, "Sorbus aria", give rise to many endemic variants in the UK. The traditional names of the rowan are those applied to the species "Sorbus aucuparia", "Sorbus torminalis" (wild service-tree), and "Sorbus domestica" (true service-tree). The Latin name "sorbus" was borrowed into Old English as "syrfe". The name "service-tree" for "Sorbus domestica" is derived from that name by folk etymology. The Latin name "sorbus" is from a root for "red, reddish-brown" (PIE "*sor-/*ser-"); English "sorb"
Sorbus chamaemespilus in corymbs 3–4 cm diameter. The fruit is an oval red pome 10–13 mm diameter. It is the sole species in a group that has been called genus "Chamaemespilus" or "Sorbus" subgenus "Chamaemespilus", distinguished from other subgenera of "Sorbus" by the pink (not white) flowers with forward-pointing petals (not opening flat). More recently, it has become clear that the simple-leafed species traditionally included in "Sorbus" form a monophyletic group, and this species could be included in a clade called "Aria" (genus "Aria" or "Sorbus" subgenus "Aria"). Sorbus chamaemespilus Sorbus chamaemespilus, the false medlar or dwarf whitebeam, is a species of