Sorbus minima Sorbus minima Sorbus minima, commonly known as the lesser whitebeam or least whitebeam, is a shrub belonging to the subgenus "Aria" (whitebeams) in the genus "Sorbus". It is endemic to Wales where it grows at a few sites in Breconshire. It is an apomictic microspecies which reproduces asexually and so is reproductively isolated from its close relatives such as the Swedish whitebeam, "S. intermedia". It probably originated as a hybrid between the rock whitebeam ("S. rupicola") and the rowan ("S. aucuparia"). It was first discovered in 1893 by Augustin Ley, the vicar of Sellack in Herefordshire who travelled widely in
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