Wilmott's Whitebeam (Sorbus wilmottiana)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Tree |
| Red List Status: | Endangered (Not Relevant) [EN(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Sorbus wilmottiana |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | E.F.Warb. |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | in Stroh et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | An ‘Endangered’ (Rivers et al. 2019) Avon Gorge endemic, with c. 75–80 plants. Mostly well looked after in protected site (Avon Gorge SSSI/SAC) and stable and under little threat. Some trees have succumbed to a fungal disease (see Sorbus whiteana action) or cattle grazing. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Whitebeam stable if rare and under little/no threat in Avon Gorge SSSI. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Some scrub management in Avon Gorge quarries would help all whitebeams medium term. Whole SSSI would benefit from control of invasive species such as Holm oak |
Species Assessment
Not relevant as no Key Actions defined.
Key Actions
No Key Actions Defined
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.