Sorbus commixta


Sorbus commixta, the Japanese rowan, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to Japan, Sakhalin, and the Korean island of Ulleungdo.

Name

The specific epithet commixta means "mixed or mingled together".
Its Japanese name, nana-kamado, literally means "seven stove" and alludes to its sturdiness as firewood, as it does not get entirely consumed by the fire of a stove even after repeated use.

Description

It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree growing to tall, rarely, with a rounded crown and brownish to silvery-grey bark. The leaves are long, and pinnate. The leaves consist of 11–17 leaflets, each long and 1–2.5 cm broad, with an acuminate apex and serrated margins; they change to a deep purple or red in autumn. The flowers are 6–10 mm in diameter, with five white petals and 20 yellowish-white stamens; they are produced in corymbs in diameter in late spring to early summer. The fruit is a bright orange to red pome 7–8 mm in diameter, maturing in autumn.
Plants from Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin are sometimes distinguished as Sorbus commixta var. sachalinensis, with larger leaflets up to 9 cm long.

Cultivation and uses

Outside its native range, it is grown as an ornamental tree, hardy in zones 5-9. It grows best in moist, well-drained soil, in full sun. A number of cultivars have been selected, the most popular being 'Embley' and 'Serotina'. 'Embley' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.