There are two nationally rare, endemic Whitebeam species which occur in the woodland areas namely Sorbus subcuneata and Sorbus vexans.
Two nationally rare plants occur at Rodney Stoke: Purple Gromwell (Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum) and the endemic Whitebeam (Sorbus anglica).
The surface of the leaf is an unremarkable mid-green, but the underside is almost white (hence the name) transforming the appearance of the tree in strong winds, as noted by the poet Meredith: "flashing as in gusts the sudden-lighted whitebeam".
Sorbus admonitor, a species of whitebeam tree found in the United Kingdom
Examples of apomixis can be found in the genera Crataegus (hawthorns), Amelanchier (shadbush), Sorbus (rowans and whitebeams), Rubus (brambles or blackberries), Poa (meadow grasses), Hieracium (hawkweeds) and Taraxacum (dandelions).
Rare tree species occurring include the large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos) and varieties of whitebeam, as well as pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) and wych elm (Ulmus glabra).
The woods are an example of old woodland which comprises Ash, Oak, Silver Birch, Whitebeam and Rowan.
In 2013, Salix was criticised for failing to take action to prevent the risk of fire in Whitebeam Court, a tower block in Pendleton.
Sorbus intermedia (Swedish Whitebeam) is a species of whitebeam in southern Sweden, with scattered occurrences in easternmost Denmark (Bornholm), the far southwest of Finland), the Baltic States, and northern Poland.
Sorbus chamaemespilus (False Medlar or Dwarf Whitebeam) is a species of Sorbus native to the mountains of central and southern Europe, from the Pyrenees east through the Alps to the Carpathians and the Balkans, growing at altitudes of up to 2500 m.
Sorbus latifolia (the service tree of Fontainebleau; French: alisier de Fontainebleau) is a species of whitebeam that is endemic to the area around Fontainebleau, south of Paris in France, where it has been known since the early eighteenth century.
Sorbus mougeotii (Vosges Whitebeam or Mougeot's Whitebeam) is a species of whitebeam native to the mountains of central and western Europe from the Pyrenees east through the Alps to Austria, and north to the Vosges Mountains.
Sorbus vexans (bloody whitebeam) is a rare tree in the Rosaceae family.
Of particular interest are trees of the nationally rare large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos), as well as whitebeam species: English whitebeam (Sorbus anglica), grey-leaved whitebeam (Sorbus porrigentiformis), rock whitebeam (Sorbus rupicola) and round-leaved whitebeam (Sorbus eminens).