Amelanchier arborea

Amelanchier arborea (downy serviceberry or common serviceberry), is a small tree native to eastern North America from the Gulf Coast north to Thunder Bay in Ontario and Lake St. John in Quebec, and west to Texas and Minnesota. Other common names are "shadberries" (as their blossoming coincides with the shad runs in New England), "Juneberries" (because the berries usually set on in June), and "Service" or "Sarvice" berries because their blooms mean that the muddy back roads into the "coves and hollers" of Appalachia will soon be passable for circuit-riding preachers and the communities will be able to have Sunday services again. (Some say, more morbidly, that it means the ground is soft enough to dig, which means that those who died over winter can be buried and have services said over them.)

Description

A deciduous tree. It grows to 10 m tall and spreads to 12 m wide. The crown is narrow. The lower branches droop. The bark is grey and smooth when young and becomes ridged and scaly with age. The leaves are oval and 7.5 cm long and 4 cm wide. The leaves have fine teeth. The leaves are rounded and heart shaped at the base and pointed at the tip. They are covered with white down as they emerge. The leaves turn red, orange or yellow in autumn. The flowers occur in profuse upright sprays. The fruit are borne in small clusters and are 10 mm across.

Edible Uses

The fruit is edible raw or cooked, up to 10mm in diameter, and borne in small clusters. Quality varies: some forms are dry and tasteless while others are sweet and juicy, with a few small seeds at the centre. The fruit ripens unevenly over 2–3 weeks and is very attractive to birds, making it difficult to harvest in quantity. It is rich in iron and copper.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten raw or cooked. They can be dried. The leaves are dried for tea.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

A compound infusion of the plant has been used as an anthelmintic, in the treatment of diarrhoea, and as a spring tonic. An infusion of the bark has been used in the treatment of gonorrhoea.

Distribution

It is a temperate plant. It grows naturally in Eastern North America. It grows in woods and thickets on moist soil. It suits hardiness zones 4-9. Arboretum Tasmania.

Where It Grows

Australia, Canada, North America, Tasmania, USA,

Cultivation

It can be grown from seed, layering or suckers. Seed can take 18 months to germinate and layers can take 18 months to form roots.

Propagation

Seed is best harvested green — when fully formed but before the seed coat has hardened — and sown immediately in pots outdoors or in a cold frame. Stored seed obtained early in autumn can be given 4 weeks of warm stratification before being left outside over winter to germinate in spring; otherwise seed can be very slow, taking 18 months or more. Prick seedlings out into individual pots when large enough to handle and grow on in a sheltered outdoor position, planting out once they reach 20cm or more. Where sufficient seed is available, sow thinly in an outdoor seedbed and grow on for two years before planting into permanent positions during winter. Layering in spring takes 18 months. Suckers can be divided in late winter, but must have been growing for 2 years before lifting to ensure they have formed roots; they can be planted directly into permanent positions if needed.

Other Uses

The trees have an extensive root system and can be planted on banks for erosion control. The wood is close-grained, hard, strong, tough, and elastic — one of the heaviest woods in North America at 49lb per cubic foot. Too small for commercial use, it is sometimes made into handles.

Notes

There are about 25-30 Amelanchier species.

Synonyms

References (20)

• Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 23
• Coombes, A.J., 2000, Trees. Dorling Kindersley Handbooks. p 238
• Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 145
• Elias, T.S. & Dykeman P.A., 1990, Edible Wild Plants. A North American Field guide. Sterling, New York p 207
• Esperanca, M. J., 1988. Surviving in the wild. A glance at the wild plants and their uses. Vol. 1. p 316

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