Sorbus Sorbus Sorbus is a genus of about 100–200 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of "Sorbus" ("s.l.") are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan, service tree, and mountain-ash. The exact number of species is disputed depending on the circumscription of the genus, and also due to the number of apomictic microspecies, which some treat as distinct species, but others group in a smaller number of variable species. Recent treatments treat "Sorbus" in a narrower sense to include only the pinnate leaved species of subgenus "Sorbus", raising several of the other subgenera to generic rank. "Sorbus" is
Sorbus aucuparia a source for fruit in harsh mountain climate and Maria Theresa of the Habsburg Monarchy recommended the planting of the species in 1779. An edible variety, named "Sorbus aucuparia" var. "dulcis" Kraetzl, or var. "edulis" Dieck, or var. "moravica" Dippel, was first discovered in 1810 near Ostružná in the Hrubý Jeseník mountain range of Northern Moravia and became widespread in Germany and Austria the early 20th century. Its leaves are larger and pointed, only the front part of the leaflets is serrated, and they have darker bark, larger buds and larger fruit. Similar non-bitter varieties found in Southern Russia were