Whitebeam or Wild service tree: how to tell them apart?
Whitebeam and Wild service tree look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Whitebeam
Sorbus aria
Wild service tree
Sorbus torminalis
Whitebeam has simple, ovate leaves that are only toothed, with a very white, felted underside. Wild service tree has distinctly lobed leaves, recalling those of a maple, and a much less white underside.
🍃 Leaves
Ovate, simple, toothed, white and felted beneath
Lobed, somewhat like a maple leaf but alternate and toothed
🌸 Flowers
White corymbs
White corymbs
🍎 Fruits
Small round to ovoid fruits, about 1 cm, orange to orange-red when ripe, borne in clusters; edible once bletted.
Small brown fruits speckled with pale dots, edible when bletted
🪵 Bark
Grey, smooth
Grey, cracked into small scales
📏 Size
10 to 15 m tall, sometimes up to 20 m
15 to 20 m tall
🗺️ Habitat
Limestone slopes, open mountain woodland
Open woodland, woodland edges, limestone soils
⚠️ Toxicity
No known toxicity; fruits (whitebeam berries) edible once bletted
No known toxicity; fruits edible once bletted
🔎 And from the Wild service tree side
Compare the leaf above all: wild service tree has distinctly lobed leaves, whereas whitebeam has unlobed leaves, simply toothed, with a white, felted underside.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.