This rare species' common name refers to its blood-red fruit, while the epithet was given by a botanist frustrated at pinning down its identity. Its typical habitat is open Sessile Oak woodland on thin acid soils, sometimes in open heathland among bracken, and steep coastal woodlands, especially Old Red Sandstone cliffs. It is threatened by shade, especially spreading rhododendrons.

An endangered endemic species of only 70 known specimens, across just seven sites in north Devon and south Somerset in south-west England.

Syn. *Sorbus vexans. *Sexually an apomictic tetraploid, evolving from a cross between Common Whitebeam (p. xxx) and Rock Whitebeam (p. xxx).

Small (10m), single or often multi-stemmed. Bark grey-brown with diagonal lenticels. Buds ovoid-conical, sharp, pale-haired at the tip. Leaves oblong or oblong-obovate, twice as long as wide and held erect, 4-8cm, unlobed, obtuse-tipped, dark green above, densely white downy below, with 12-19 veins and weakly biserrate margins almost smooth near the base, on a 9-21mm petiole. Flowers white in a domed dense 9cm inflorescence (May-June). Fruit a globose pome (11-15mm), wider than long, blood red with some basal white lenticels (September-October). Rock Whitebeam differs (locally): margins smooth in the lower third.