Hedlundia pulchra, the Goessweinstein whitebeam, is an apomictic speciesSorbus pulchra N. Mey. Gößweinsteiner Mehlbeere. (n.d.). Botanischer Informationsknoten Bayern. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://daten.bayernflora.de/de/info_pflanzen.php?taxnr=26251#name=26251,yearGrouping=2,yearColorGrouping=1,map=9/49.7192/9.2505 of tree in the family Rosaceae endemic to Bavaria, Germany. It is extremely rareSorbus pulchra N. Mey. (2026, April 14). Rote Liste Zentrum. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://www.rote-liste-zentrum.de/en/detailseite/?species_uuid=c42988e2-d748-45fd-87e6-775ab4b90170&species_organismGroup=Farn-%20und%20Bl%C3%BCtenpflanzen&q=sorbus and threatened with extinction.
Description
Hedlundia pulchra is a 3–10 m tall shrub or tree. The greyish green abaxial leaf surface is pubescent. The leaves have 9–11 pairs of veins positioned 8 mm apart from each other.Meyer, T. (n.d.). Gößweinsteiner Mehlbeere (Sorbus pulchra N. Meyer). Blumen in Schwaben. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://www.blumeninschwaben.de/Zweikeimblaettrige/Rosengewaechse/lappen_spitz.htm#G%C3%B6%C3%9Fweinsteiner%20Mehlbeere The flowers have 2 unfused styles. The globose to elliptic, pubescent, 1 cm wide fruit bears very small lenticels.
Taxonomy It was first described as Sorbus pulchra by Norbert Meyer in 2005.Sorbus pulchra N.Mey. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77070659-1 It was moved to the genus Hedlundia as Hedlundia pulchra by Alexander Nikolaevitsch Sennikov and Arto Kurtto in 2017.Sennikov, A. N., & Kurtto, A. (2017). A phylogenetic checklist of Sorbus s.l. (Rosaceae) in Europe. Memoranda Societatis pro Fauna et Flora Fennica, 93, 1-78.Hedlundia pulchra (N.Mey.) Sennikov & Kurtto. (n.d.-b). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77164922-1 The type specimen was collected on the 19th of May 2001 by N. Meyer and O. Angerer in the forest edge between Ezdorf and Gößweinstein in Bavaria, Germany. The genus name Hedlundia honours the Swedish botanist Johan Teodor Hedlund. The specific epithet pulchra means beautiful.Blaich, G. (n.d.). Sorbus pulchra N.MEY. Retrieved September 1, 2026, from https://guenther-blaich.de/pflseite.php?par=Sorbus+pulchra&abs=pflfmros&lan=x&grp=a
Distribution and habitat Hedlundia pulchra is endemic to Bavaria, Germany where it occurs in an area of about 50 km2 in open pine forest, on the edges of deciduous forest, and on rocks at elevations of 450–510 m above sea level.
Conservation
It is a critically endangered species with a small population of only 75 juvenile and 25 mature individuals restricted to a small area. The species isn't covered by special legal protection.BfN - Bundesamt für Naturschutz. (n.d.). Sorbus pulchra N. Mey. (Gößweinsteiner Mehlbeere). FloraWeb. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://www.floraweb.de/php/artenhome.php?suchnr=26251 It is cultivated in an ex-situ conservation collection at the Botanical Garden Erlangen.Kerskes, A., Heuvemann, C., Welß, W., & Horn, K. Erhaltungskulturen im Artenhilfsprogramm Botanik in Mittelfranken, Bayern.Horn, K., Kerskes, A., & Welss, W. (2012). Erhaltungskulturen bedrohter Pflanzenarten im Botanischen Garten Erlangen — ein aktiver Beitrag zum Artenschutz. RegnitzFlora, Mitt. des VFR, 5, 39-46. Hedlundia pulchra saplings are also planted on private land by a nature conservation organisation.Schneider, D. (2020, July 7). Von “Grüner Gockel” bis “Ende Gelände”: Zwölf Projekte für den Klimaschutz. Sonntagsblatt. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://www.sonntagsblatt.de/artikel/kirche/zwoelf-projekte-klimaschutz-future-gockel
References