Sorbus torminalis

Wild Service Tree (Sorbus torminalis )

The Wild Service Tree (Sorbus torminalis ) is a deciduous tree species from the genus of haws (Sorbus ). It belongs to the rose family ( Rosaceae ).

Name

The serviceberry has received many names over the centuries, such as the name of dysentery pear as the fruit was a well-known remedy for dysentery. Furthermore, it is also known under the name Alzbeere, Adlitzbeere, Atlas Tree, Atlas Berry, Arisbeere, Arles berry, berry colon, Els - rowan, Elzbeere, Frauenbeeri, Sauerbirl, Beautiful Else, Swiss pear and Wild Sparrowhawk ( tree ).

Description

The serviceberry is a deciduous, 15 to 25 m, in the woods sometimes over 30 m tall tree. The bark or bark in older trees often ash- gray and kleinschuppig. The bark of the wild service tree It is easy to confuse with an oak bark.

The leaves are about 2-7 cm long, the outline is broad to ovate. The edge is sharp lobed and slightly serrated, the number of lobes is three to five. The flowers are white and form upright, loose corymbs. The autumn color is golden yellow to slightly reddish. The fruits are obovate to roundish, only olive green, later brown tall with bright points and about 1.5 cm.

Location

The service tree usually grows in warmer layers, south -exposed slopes and ridges. It is referred to as a half- full sunlight and tolerates in her youth a shade quite well. The serviceberry heard as well as the Speierling for medium to southern Flore room. The northernmost distribution area in Europe can be found in Denmark, the main distribution area is located in Central and Southern Europe. Other deposits are found in Asia and occasionally in North Africa.

Today, the wild service tree is replanted reinforced, even in northern Germany and southern Scandinavia.

In Germany you will find Elsbeerbestände in Baden- Württemberg, Rhineland -Palatinate, Lower Saxony, in the southeastern Mecklenburg- Vorpommern, in the southwestern and southeastern North Rhine -Westphalia, Hesse, Bavaria ( here especially in the warmer Franconia ), Saxony -Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. However, the wild service tree dominated forest in any society, it occurs individually or in groups. The highest known wild service tree in the world with 35 meters height stands at Hengstenberg eastern United Lengden in southern Lower Saxony.

Specimen trees outside the forest are in Germany - in contrast to Austria - very rare. There are only about a dozen such " field - wild service trees " known, including that for white churches in Upper Bavaria and the wild service tree on the outskirts of Ripsdorf in Blankenheim in the Eifel region, as well as the copy within a projected nature of trees in Marienrode. In Austria there are some very tall trees in the vicinity of Brand- Laaben and Neulengbach in the Vienna Woods and in Stössing.

System

The Swedish naturalist Carl von Linné listed the species under the applicable as basionym taxon Crataegus torminalis in his 1753 published work Species Plantarum. However, the German botanist Heinrich Johann Nepomuk von Crantz arranged the way in 1763 under the currently valid taxon Sorbus torminalis another genus.

Another synonym for the species is Pyrus torminalis (L.) Ehrh ..

Ecology

The serviceberry is a deciduous tree with a wine-red fall color. It is a deep-rooting and until about one hundred years old, but can be older in rare cases. The flowering period is May -July. The fruit experienced a digestive and editing spread. Fruit ripening begins in October. Vegetative propagation is by root sprouts.

The service tree is a caterpillar food plant for the Pfeileule that Trapezeule, the beech belt tensioner dolls and the Yellow Hawthorn tensioner.

Use

The wood of the wild service tree is one of the hardest European woods. There is diffuse-porous, the core is not normally a contrasting color. It works and throws herself upon drying is very, tough and at the same time elastic. Due to its similarity to the bulb serviceberry is sold together with other Sorbus species ( Speierling, Rowan, rowan) under the trade designation Swiss pear. " Swiss pear " was seen by many (European) manufacturers (including Aristo, Faber- Castell, Albert Nestler drawing technique ) used for the production of high quality wooden slide rule.

The wood achieves very high prices, is still fresh bright with a velvety surface ( satinwood ) and darkens reddish after. The veneer is used for cabinet making.

The small, apple -like fruits are edible but astringent. Only when they are ripe or cooked, the tannin is removed. Overripe fruits are very popular with birds. Therefore, it is important to harvest the fruits in time. This must be done by hand, the fruits are not schüttelbar.

Especially in Alsace is made from the fruit of the service tree by its French name Alisier a taste similar to the sloe gin brandy. In Austria he calls himself beside Elsbeerenbrand also Adlitzbeerenschnaps ( Dial Oadlatzbeerschnaps ). However, the yield is very low: For 2 liters of liquor you need 100 liters of mash. In Austria the Elsbeerenbrand with the home in Lower Austria is also performed in the traditional food register. The Wiesenwienerwald, a region in western Vienna woods, where the wild service tree is processed or added also to various products such as jam or honey is marketed tourist and gastronomic branded meadow Elsbeere.

The tree has a high ornamental value by the red color in autumn.

Others

Theologians of the Church Research Home in Wittenberg voted in 1999 as its contribution to the then " Lutherin - year" Elsbeere for " Lutherin Tree". They had found that Mrs. Luther especially liked to eat wild service trees and Luther had requested in a letter his friend Johannes Agricola about the bring him to his wife from her coveted fruit from Eisleben. As a counterpart to the famous oak Luther in Wittenberg they planted in front of her institute a serviceberry as " Lutherin Tree" and made, among others, with a bilingual sign attention. Following the example planted in 2001, the environmental group of the protestant church Unna- Lünern to their Luthereiche a " Lutherin Tree".

On 19 March 2011, the club Trinkwasserwald planted eV in cooperation with Deutsche Bank in Idstein - Eschenhahn im Taunus (Hesse) a "drop " of 300 wild service. The action should be alerted to the World Water Day on March 22.

Pictures

Fruit stand

Leaf in autumn

Tree of the Year

In Germany, the wild service tree had been elected for the year 2011 and in Austria for 2012 Tree of the Year.