Aria perlonga, the long-leaved whitebeam,Blaich, G. (n.d.). Sorbus perlonga MEIEROTT. Retrieved September 3, 2026, from https://guenther-blaich.de/pflseite.php?par=Sorbus+perlonga&abs=pflfmros&lan=x&grp=a is an apomictic speciesSorbus perlonga Meierott Langblättrige Mehlbeere. (n.d.). Botanischer Informationsknoten Bayern. Retrieved September 3, 2026, from https://daten.bayernflora.de/de/info_pflanzen.php?taxnr=26242 of tree in the family Rosaceae endemic to Bavaria, Germany.Aria perlonga (Meierott) Mosyakin, Fedor. & McNeill. (n.d.). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved September 3, 2026, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77371524-1 It is extremely rare and threatened with extinction.
Description
Vegetative characteristics Aria perlonga is a 5–10 m tall tree. The abaxial leaf surface is pubescent. The petiole is 2–2.5 cm long.Meyer, T. (n.d.). Langblättrige Mehlbeere (Sorbus perlonga Meierott). Blumen in Schwaben. Retrieved September 3, 2026, from https://www.blumeninschwaben.de/Zweikeimblaettrige/Rosengewaechse/blatt_unregel.htm#Langbl%C3%A4ttrige%20Mehlbeere Generative characteristics The inflorescence bears 25–30 white flowers. The white petals are faintly pubescent on the adaxial surface. The oval, yellow-orange accessory fruit bears few lenticels. Cytology The chromosome count is 2n = 3x = 51. It is triploid.Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung. (n.d.). Sorbus perlonga Meierott. Chromosomenzahlen Zur Flora Von Deutschland. Retrieved September 3, 2026, from https://chromosomes.senckenberg.de/item/20961
Taxonomy It was first described as Sorbus perlonga by Lenz Meierott in 2005.Sorbus perlonga Meierott. (n.d.-b). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved September 3, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77070674-1 It was moved to the genus Aria as Aria perlonga by Sergei Leonidovich Mosyakin, Mykola Mykhaylovych Fedoronchuk, and John McNeill in 2025.Mosyakin, S. L., Fedoronchuk, M. M., & McNEILL, J. (2025). Simplifying the nomenclature of Sorbus sensu lato: new nomenclatural solutions in Aria and Hedlundia (Rosaceae). Ukrainian Botanical Journal, 82(3), 206-224.Aria perlonga (Meierott) Mosyakin, Fedor. & McNeill. (n.d.-b). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved September 3, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77371524-1 The type specimen was collected on the 18th of May 2001 by N. Meyer, L. Meierott, and O. Angerer in Oberleinach, Germany. Etymology The specific epithet perlonga means very long.
Distribution and habitat Aria perlonga is endemic to a small area of only 12 km2 west of Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany, where it occurs in open pine forest and on the edges of deciduous forest at elevations of 250–350 meters above sea level. Another population near Trimburg has probably gone extinct.
Conservation It is a critically endangered species with a small population of only 30 saplings and 40 mature trees restricted to a small area. It is cultivated in three ex situ conservation collections.Sorbus perlonga Meierott. (n.d.). BGCI PlantSearch. Retrieved September 3, 2026, from https://plantsearch.bgci.org/taxon/190840
References