Editing Cormus domestica

{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; width: 320px; margin-left: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 1em;"
! colspan="2" style="background: #e8e8e8;" | True service tree (''Cormus domestica'')
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | [[File:Sorbus domestica-Cormier.jpg|300px|Cormus domestica (syn. Sorbus domestica), whole tree]]
|-
! Scientific name
| ''Cormus domestica''<sup id="cite_ref-1">[[#cite_note-1|[1]]]</sup>
|-
! Genus
| [[Cormus]]
|-
! Family
| [[Rosaceae]]
|-
! Order
| [[Rosales]]
|-
! Habit
| Deciduous tree, usually 9–15 m tall
|-
! Fruit
| Pear-shaped to subglobose pome, about 2.5–3 cm long<sup id="cite_ref-2">[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>
|}

'''Cormus domestica''', the true service tree or sorb tree, is a deciduous fruiting tree in the rose family. The accepted name is ''Cormus domestica''; ''Sorbus domestica'' and ''Pyrus domestica'' remain important names in horticultural and taxonomic references.<sup>[[#cite_note-1|[1]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> Its fruit is traditionally eaten after it softens through bletting rather than while it is hard and tannin-rich.

== Description ==

The tree is usually 9–15 m tall, although larger trees of about 20–30 m are recorded. It has pinnate leaves and white to cream flowers carried in clusters about 6–10 cm across. The pomes are pear-shaped to subglobose and approximately 2.5–3 cm long.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

Cormus domestica occurs in woodland, heathland, hedges, ledges and scree across sites from sea level to about 1250 m in the specialist botanical treatment.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> The combination of deciduous growth and tolerance of exposed, relatively dry habitats is useful context when siting it in cultivation.

== Cultivation ==

=== Soil and water ===

The species is associated with varied soils, including lime-bearing ground, and is described as drought tolerant once established. It prefers drier sites, so good drainage is a more useful starting point than a permanently wet root zone; prolonged saturation is a poor fit for that reported preference.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-3">[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>

=== Sun and humidity ===

Warm, bright positions suit the reported ecology of the species, and fruiting is better in sun than in shade in the horticultural summaries.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup> Hardiness to about −30 °C is given in the specialist treatment, while another horticultural account describes only moderate cold hardiness; this difference makes the figure an attributed approximation rather than a universal limit.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>

=== Seasonal changes ===

As a deciduous tree, it has a leafless cool-season phase. An apple-fruited form is documented with early-autumn ripening, but that timing should not be applied to every fruit form or site.<sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup> A two-or-three-year high-yield interval is attributed to Kausch-Blecken von Schmeling (2000), while a Croatian report by Drvodelić (2010) records high yields every four years; neither interval should be treated as a universal annual pattern.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

== Propagation ==

Seed dormancy requires cold stratification. A propagation recommendation is 90–120 days at about 4 °C followed by warm conditions; seed is also vulnerable to fungal problems and germination declines during storage.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> The schedule is a reported recommendation rather than a demonstrated controlled result.

Seedlings can be kept in pots in a cold frame for their first winter and planted out in late spring, a handling sequence given in a horticultural database under the synonym ''Sorbus domestica''.<sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup> Root suckers are common. Grafting reports conflict: same-species seedlings, quince and ''Crataegus'' are all mentioned as rootstock possibilities, but their relative performance is unresolved and no universal rootstock choice is warranted.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

== Flowering, fruiting, and harvest ==

White to cream flowers are produced in clusters about 6–10 cm across. The fruit is a small pome, pear-shaped to subglobose and about 2.5–3 cm long.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> Early-autumn ripening is documented for an apple-fruited form. A two-or-three-year high-yield interval is attributed to Kausch-Blecken von Schmeling (2000), while a Croatian report by Drvodelić (2010) records high yields every four years; neither interval should be treated as a universal annual pattern.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>

Hard fruit is tannin-rich and bitter. It becomes softer and sweeter during bletting, when it is described as palatable; harvesting and use should therefore be based on the fruit's texture and ripeness rather than on the firm stage.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

== Fruit and uses ==

After bletting, the fruit has a traditional food use and has also been used in fermented drinks. The documented change from astringent hard fruit to softer, sweeter fruit does not establish medicinal properties or broad food-safety assurances.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

== Cultivars and selections ==

Documented fruit-form groups include Maliform and Pyriform. Named large-fruited selections include Sossenheimer Riese, Géant de Saint-Germain, Periforme ottobrino, Meliforme ottobrino and Rugginoso settembrino.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> These names are useful leads for locating planting material, but they do not form a comparative ranking of fruit quality, bearing, climate adaptation, propagation compatibility or storage performance. Few named cultivars are reported to have entered general commerce.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

== Photos ==

[[File:Sorbus domestica 150912.jpg|300px|Cormus domestica (syn. Sorbus domestica) in Tauberland]]

== References ==

* <span id="cite_note-1"></span>[[#cite_ref-1|↑]] '''[1]''' [https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/match?name=Cormus%20domestica GBIF species match: Cormus domestica].

* <span id="cite_note-2"></span>[[#cite_ref-2|↑]] '''[2]''' [https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/cormus/cormus-domestica/ Cormus domestica] — Trees and Shrubs Online, Roderick Cameron and Rowan Griffiths.

* <span id="cite_note-3"></span>[[#cite_ref-3|↑]] '''[3]''' [https://temperate.theferns.info/plant/Sorbus+domestica Sorbus domestica] — Useful Temperate Plants.

== Image credits ==

* ''Sorbus domestica-Cormier.jpg'' — whole tree; Colsu; CC BY-SA 4.0. [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sorbus_domestica-Cormier.jpg File page]

* ''Sorbus domestica 150912.jpg'' — tree in Tauberland; BerndH; CC BY-SA 3.0. [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sorbus_domestica_150912.jpg File page]