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Wild Service Tree Wild Service Tree

The Wild Service Tree (Sorbus torminalis L.) is considered endangered throughout Germany. This assessment is based above all on the regionally limited distribution of the Wild Service Tree and its occurrence in small to moderate proportions in oak forest communities, which are often replaced by beech in the course of near-natural forest management.

Wild Service Tree (Sorbus torminalis L.)

Wild service tree with autumn foliage coloring. Click leads to enlarged view
Wild Service Tree
Source: Baum des Jahres Dr. Silvius Wodarz Stiftung, N. Mayer

The Wild Service Tree is endangered throughout Germany. This assessment is based on the regionally limited distribution of the Wild Service Tree and its occurrence in small to moderate proportions in oak forest communities, which are often replaced by beech in the course of close to nature forest management.  

The focus of the distribution of the approx. 80,000 trees documented nationwide is in southwest and central Germany; in addition, a second, smaller focus is in north-east Germany. In Franconia, more than half of the mapped Wild Service Trees are found.

In Germany, a total of four gene centres have been identified: a South German gene centre (Mainfranken, Jura), a Central German gene centre (Weser Uplands, Werra-Hainich, Mitteldeutsches Trias-Hügelland), a West German gene centre (Saar-Nahe Hills and the Eifel) and a North-East German gene centre (East Mecklenburg, East Brandenburg).