Amelanchier arborea subsp. laevis

(Wiegand) S. M. McKay ex P. Landry

Juneberry, Shad bush, Allegheny shadberry, Smooth juneberry, Snowy mespil

Rosaceae Edible: Fruit 26,578 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

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 8-9 m high and spreads to 4-6 m across. It often has several stems. The stems are slender and erect. The bark is dark grey and smooth. The leaves are oval and 6 cm long by 2.5 cm wide. The leaves are alternate and have a short point at the tip. There are teeth around the edge. The leaves are purplish or pink when young. They turn red in autumn. The flowers are white. They occur in large numbers. They are in upright racemes 7.5 cm long. The fruit is red but turns a blackish-purple and is a sweet berry. They are 18 mm across.

Edible Uses

The ripe fruit is eaten raw or cooked, made into jams, sauces, and pies, or gathered and dried for later use.

Traditional Uses

The fruit is eaten raw or cooked. The fruit need to be very ripe. The are made into jams, sauces and pies. They can be gathered and dried.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

A temperate plant. It requires well drained soils in a shaded position. It is resistant to frost but damaged by drought. The plant occurs naturally in North America and is naturalised in Britain on light acidic soils. It suits hardiness zones 4-9.

Where It Grows

Australia, Britain, Canada, Europe, North America*, USA,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from ripe seed. 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.

Production

Trees come into bearing in about 12 years from seed.

Notes

There are about 25-30 Amelanchier species.

Synonyms

Amelanchier arborea var. laevis (Wiegland) H. E. AhlesAmelanchier laevis Wiegand

References (15)

Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M., and James A. Duke. "The Foodplant Database." http://probe.nalusda.gov:8300/cgi-bin/browse/foodplantdb.(ACEDB version 4.0 - data version July 1994) (As Amelanchier laevis)
Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 75 (As Amelanchier laevis)
Brickell, C. (Ed.), 1999, The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Convent Garden Books. p 107 (As Amelanchier laevis)
Coombes, A.J., 2000, Trees. Dorling Kindersley Handbooks. p 239 (As Amelanchier laevis)
Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 145 (As Amelanchier laevis)

Show all 15 references

Duke, J.A., 1992, Handbook of Edible Weeds. CRC Press. p 30 (As Amelanchier laevis)
Etherington, K., & Imwold, D., (Eds), 2001, Botanica's Trees & Shrubs. The illustrated A-Z of over 8500 trees and shrubs. Random House, Australia. p 92 (As Amelanchier laevis)
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 193 (As Amelanchier laevis)
Harris, E & J., 1983, Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain. Reader's Digest. p 88 (As Amelanchier laevis)
http://en.hortipedia.com
Lord, E.E., & Willis, J.H., 1999, Shrubs and Trees for Australian gardens. Lothian. p 47 (As Amelanchier laevis)
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/. (As Amelanchier laevis)
Rhodora 14:154. 1912 (As Amelanchier laevis)
Ryan, S., 2008, Dicksonia. Rare Plants Manual. Hyland House. p 7 (As Amelanchier laevis)
Toupal, R. S. & Hollenback, K., 2009, An Ethnobotany of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore: Plant Uses of the Ojibwa People. Bureau of Applied research in Anthropology. University of Arizona (As Amelanchier laevis)