Hedlundia thuringiaca is a widely cultivated species of ornamental shrub.[1] It is cultivated by grafting.
It has purple-grey bark, which is smooth but begins cracking and flaking as it matures. The leaves are narrowly ovate to elliptic (in shape) long and wide. They are lobed, except at the very tip, the lobes become deeper towards the base, becoming toothed. The leaves are glossy dark green above and grey and hair underneath. In late spring, it flowers with dense clusters of 5 petaled white flowers, which are wide. After flowering, it produces a rounded, bright red berry which is wide.[2]
It is a diploid hybrid between Sorbus aucuparia and the diploid Aria edulis. It is rare in the wild but occurs at scattered sites across much of Europe[3] (within Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Romania and Switzerland,[1]) and Turkey.[2]
It has been introduced in Belgium and Illinois, USA.[1]
It was first published in Memoranda Soc. Fauna Fl. Fenn. 93: 34 in 2017.[1]
GRIN (United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service) accepts it as ×Hedlundia thuringiaca .