Sorbaria (Seringe ex de Candolle) A. Braun, 1860

Song, Jun-Ho & Hong, Suk-Pyo, 2021, A taxonomic revision of the genus Sorbaria (Rosaceae) with a new infrageneric classification based on morphology, micromorphology, and palynology, Phytotaxa 487 (1), pp. 1-25 : 4-5

Sorbaria (Seringe ex de Candolle) A. Braun in Ascherson (1860: 177), nom. cons. (over Schizonotus Lindley ).

≡ Spiraea Linnaeus sect. Sorbaria Seringe ex de Candolle (1825: 545) .

Type:— Sorbaria sorbifolia (Linnaeus) A. Braun in Ascherson [≡ Spiraea sorbifolia Linnaeus ] (1860: 177).

= Schizonotus Lindley (1830: 83) , nom. rej.

= Basilima Rafinesque (1838: 75) , nom. illeg.

Shrubs, deciduous, erect to spreading, hermaphroditic, rhizomatous, producing colonies by suckers, 0.2–7 m tall. Bark gray. Branches terete; branchlets and rachis glabrous or pubescent. Winter bud ovoid to cylindric with several scales, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves alternate, odd-pinnately compound, petiolate; petiole slightly sheathing at base; stipules persistent, adnate to petiole, linear, lanceolate to ovate, margins usually serrate; blades triangular-ovate or triangular in outline; leaflets (7–)10–20(–33), narrowly lanceolate to oblong-ovate, apex acuminate or caudate, base sub-rounded to cuneate, margins simple or double serrate, glabrous or pubescent (with simple, stellate, or glandular hairs), with 7–46 veins. Inflorescences terminal, panicles, erect or pendulous, many-flowered, showy, peduncle and pedicels glabrous or pubescent; bracts and bracteoles present. Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic, pedicellate; hypanthium shallowly cupular; sepals 5, reflexed, triangular or semi-rounded, apex acute or rounded, persistent; petals 5, white, imbricate, ovate to orbicular; stamens 15–50, nearly equaling or longer than petals; carpels 5, opposite to sepals, connate at base; ovary glabrous or densely pubescent; ovules 4–8. Fruits aggregated follicles, five partly connate follicles, cylindrical, styles recurving after anthesis, dehiscent along dorsally and apical suture, glabrous or densely pubescent, somewhat leathery. Seeds 4–8, fusiform to narrow elliptical, reticulate seed coat.

Chromosome number: —2 n = 36 ( Gurzenkov 1973, Song et al. 1989, Chen et al. 2003).

Distribution: —Central ( Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Pakistan) and East Asia ( China, Japan, Korea, Russian Far East); North America, Europe (introduced).

Ecology: —Usually Apis mellifera , Argynnis niobe , Bombus spp. , and Tabanidae spp. visit during the flowering season as a pollinator.