Sorbus × hybrida by thrushes and waxwings, which disperse the seeds. It is a tetraploid species of hybrid origin between "S. aucuparia" (European rowan) and "S. intermedia" (Swedish whitebeam), the latter being a tetraploid triple hybrid between "S. aucuparia", "S. torminalis", and either "S. aria" or one of its close relatives. "S. intermedia" differs from "S. hybrida" in having the leaves less deeply lobed with no separate leaflets. Closely related "Sorbus meinichii" is a triploid or tetraploid species of hybrid origin between "S. hybrida" and "S. aucuparia" and differs in having the basal four to six pairs of lobes cut right to the
Sorbus aucuparia a light brown to reddish brown heartwood. It is diffuse-porous, flexible, elastic, and tough, but not durable, with a density of 600 to in a dried state. The roots of "S. aucuparia" grow wide and deep, and the plant is capable of root sprouting and can regenerate after coppicing. The compound leaves are pinnate with 4 to 9 pairs of leaflets on either side of a terete central vein and with a terminal leaflet. There are paired leaf-like stipules at the base of the petiole. The leaves are up to 20 cm long, 8 to 12 cm wide, and arranged