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
North Fork Mountain pine barren in the Central Appalachians. Other rocky summits, including the summit of Pike Knob, are blanketed by red pine ("Pinus resinosa") forests, here at their southernmost natural occurrences. The Monongahela National Forest has designated of old growth red pine forest on the mountain as the North Fork Mountain Red Pine Botanical Area. Another unusual vegetation type on North Fork Mountain is an elfin forest dominated by yellow birch ("Betula alleghaniensis"), mountain ash ("Sorbus americana"), and mountain holly. The oak-and-pine vegetation of North Fork Mountain contrasts strongly with the more diverse vegetation of the nearby mountains just west of the