How do you recognise True service tree (Sorbus domestica)?

Leaf

Emmanuel Stratmains, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

True service tree

Sorbus domestica L.

Also known as: Sorb tree, Service tree

Family: Rosaceae

10 to 15 m tall, sometimes up to 20 m

Warm slopes, woodland edges, old orchards

Flowering: May

Part shade

Full sun

-26°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Its fruits shaped like tiny pears or apples distinguish it from the rowan, which bears simple round berries. True service tree bears fruits that are often pear-shaped to brownish, but their shape varies. Rowan bears smaller, round, red to orange fruits in clusters.

🍃 Leaves

Compound, 11 to 21 toothed leaflets, like the rowan

🌸 Flowers

White corymbs

🍎 Fruits

Pear-shaped or sometimes almost rounded fruits, greenish then brownish when ripe, becoming edible after bletting.

🪵 Bark

Brown-grey, flaking in small square plates like an old pear tree

🗺️ Distribution

Southern Europe, North Africa, western Asia; rare and scattered in France, mainly in the south

🐝 Value for pollinators

White corymbs rich in honey in spring, appreciated by bees

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted as a specimen or in conservation orchards, valued for its hard wood and its fruits

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity; fruits (sorbs) edible once bletted

⚠️ Look-alike species

True service tree

Sorbus domestica

Rowan

Sorbus aucuparia

True service tree bears fruits that are often pear-shaped to brownish, but their shape varies. Rowan bears smaller, round, red to orange fruits in clusters.

🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.