Service Tree (redirected from Service-tree)

Service Tree 

(also wild service tree; Sorbus torminalis), a tree (height to 25 m) or shrub of the family Rosaceae. Its blossoms are small and white and have corymbose inflorescence. It has a rounded fruit the size of a small cherry, that is yellow brown or red with light spots (lenticels) that gradually become bluish in the autumn. The fruit is tart at first, but it acquires a pleasant taste after a frost. The service tree is widespread in Europe (except in northern regions), North Africa (Algiers), Syria, Iran, and Asia Minor. In The USSR It is found in the western Ukraine, Moldavia, the Crimea, and the Caucasus. The wood of the tree is heavy, fine-grained, and resilient; it polishes well and is highly prized for wood turning and furniture manufacture. It is suitable for planting in protective antierosion and forest belts and is highly prized as a decorative species.

REFERENCES

Ivchenko, S. I. “Bereka—tsennaia poroda dlia lesnykh nasazhdenii v stepi.” Lesnoe khoziaistvo, 1952, no. 8.
Gabrielian, E. Ts. “Kavkazskie predstaviteli roda Sorbus L.” Tr. Botanicheskogo in-ta AN Armianskoi SSR, 1958, vol. 11.

M. E. KIRPICHNIKOV