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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Serviceberry
| image = Amelanchier grandiflora2.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Amelanchier lamarckii'' in flower
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Rosales]]
| familia = [[Rosaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Maloideae]]
| genus = '''''Amelanchier'''''
| genus_authority = [[Friedrich Kasimir Medikus|Medik.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''About 25; see text''
}}

The '''Serviceberry''' (''Amelanchier''), also known as '''juneberry''', '''mespilus''', '''sarvis''', '''shad-blossom''' and '''shadbush''', is a [[genus]] of about 25 species of small [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s and large [[shrub]]s in the family [[Rosaceae]]. In some areas an ''Amelanchier'' species is known as the '''currant-tree''', but it is unrelated to currants (of genus [[Ribes]]). The genus has a wide distribution in the temperate [[Northern Hemisphere]], with the majority of the species in [[North America]] and single species in [[Europe]] and [[Asia]].

The name serviceberry comes from the similarity of the [[fruit]] to the related European [[Service Tree]], ''Sorbus domestica'', a name that in turn is derived via the [[French language|French]] ''sorbier'' from the [[Latin]] name for the tree ''sorbus'', recorded by [[Pliny the Elder]]. A widespread [[folk etymology]] states that plant's flowering time signaled to early American [[settler|pioneer]]s that the ground had thawed enough in spring for the burial of the winter's dead. The name ''Amelanchier'' is derived from the French name ''amelanche'' of the European serviceberry. The city name of [[Saskatoon]] in [[Saskatchewan]] comes from a [[Cree]] Indian name ''misaaskwatoomin'' for the [[juneberry]].

The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternate, entire or finely serrate, oval, 2-10 cm long and 1-4 cm broad, green, often turning brilliant orange or red in the fall. The [[flower]]s are white, 2-4 cm diameter, with five petals, and borne in terminal racemes of 5-25. The flowers appear in early spring, "when the [[shad]] run" according to tradition (leading to names such as "shadbush"). The fruit is a small [[pome]], 1-2 cm diameter, blue-black, edible and often sweet, maturing in summer (whence the name 'juneberry').

Serviceberries are preferred browse for deer and rabbits, and heavy browsing pressure can suppress natural regeneration. [[Brimstone Moth]], [[Brown-tail]], ''[[Bucculatricidae|Bucculatrix pomifoliella]]'', [[Grey Dagger]], [[Gypsy moth]], [[Mottled Umber]], [[Satellite (moth)|The Satellite]], [[Winter Moth]] and other defoliating insects also have a taste for serviceberry. The same insects and diseases that attack orchard trees also affect this genus, in particular trunk borers and ''[[Gymnosporangium]]'' rust. In years when late flowers overlap those of wild roses and brambles, bees may spread bacterial [[fireblight]].

;Selected species
*''[[Amelanchier alnifolia]]'' - Juneberry, Saskatoon Serviceberry, Pacific serviceberry, pigeonberry, rocky mountain servicetree, sarvice, sarviceberry, saskatoon, western serviceberry, western shadbush
*''[[Amelanchier arborea]]'' - Downy Serviceberry, Allegheny serviceberry, apple shadbush, northern smooth shadbush, shadblow, shadbush serviceberry
*''[[Amelanchier asiatica]]'' - Asian Serviceberry
*''[[Amelanchier bartramiana]]'' - Bartram serviceberry
*''[[Amelanchier basalticola]]''
*''[[Amelanchier canadensis]]'' - Thicket Serviceberry, American lancewood, currant-tree, downy serviceberry, Indian cherry, Indian wild pear, juice plum, juiceberry, may cherry, sarvice, servicetree, shadblow, shadbush
*''[[Amelanchier confusa]]''
*''[[Amelanchier florida]]'' - Pacific serviceberry
*''[[Amelanchier humilis]]''
*''[[Amelanchier interior]]'' - inland serviceberry
*''[[Amelanchier laevis]]'' - Allegheny Serviceberry, Smooth Serviceberry
*''[[Amelanchier lamarckii]]'' - Snowy Mespilus, June Berry (syn. ''A. grandiflora'')
*''[[Amelanchier ovalis]]'' - European Serviceberry, Snowy Mespilus
*''[[Amelanchier sanguinea]]'' - Huron
serviceberry, roundleaf juneberry, roundleaf serviceberry, shore shadbush
*''[[Amelanchier spicata]]''
*''[[Amelanchier stolonifera]]'' - Running Shadbush
*''[[Amelanchier utahensis]]'' - Utah Serviceberry

Note that species names are often used interchangeably in the nursery trade. Many ''A. arborea'' plants that are offered for sale are actually hybrids, or entirely different species.<ref>[http://www.hort.net/profile/ros/amear/ Amelanchier arborea], hort.net Plant Profiles, consulted [[2007-01-24]]</ref>

==Uses and cultivation==
The Native American food [[pemmican]] was flavored by serviceberry fruits in combination with fat and dried meats, and the stems were made into arrow shafts.

The fruit of several species are excellent to eat raw, tasting like a slightly nutty blueberry, though their popularity with [[bird]]s makes harvesting difficult. Fruits of other species may be dry and tasteless. Fruit is harvested locally for [[pie]]s and [[jam]]s. Serviceberries are also very popular [[ornamental plant|ornamental shrubs]], grown for their flowers, bark, and fall color. All serviceberries need similar conditions to grow well, requiring good drainage, air circulation (to discourage leaf diseases), watering during drought and acceptable [[soil]].

The wood of ''Amelanchier'' species is brown, hard, close-grained, and heavy. The heartwood is reddish-brown, and the sapwood is lighter in color. It can be used for tool handles and fishing rods.

The serviceberry was brought to England in the 18th century, and grown as an exotic plant by [[Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll|the Duke of Argyll]]. [[George Washington]] planted it on the grounds of [[Mount Vernon (plantation)|Mount Vernon]].

Propagation is by seed, divisions and grafting. Serviceberries graft so readily that grafts with other genera, such as ''Crataegus'' and ''Sorbus'', are often successful.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/TechSheets/HardwoodNA/htmlDocs/amelan1.html ''Amelanchier'' ssp.] at the U.S. Department of Agriculture
*[http://www.vnps.org/potowmack.pdf Plant profile: ''Amelanchier arborea''] Newsletter of the Potowmack Chapter of the [[Virginia Native Plant Society]] 23 (6): 3-4 Nov/Dec 2005. Retrieved on [[December 30]] 2005.
*[http://www.hort.net/profile/ros/amear/ ''Amelanchier arborea''] at hort.net
*[http://mwrop.org/W_Needham/Serviceberry_040404.htm Serviceberry] in the Hiker's Notebook by William Needham. Retrieved on [[December 30]] 2005.
*Donald Culross Peattie, ''A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1964.
*Michael A. Dirr, ''Manual of Woody Landscape Plants''. Fifth ed. Champaign, Ill: Stipes Publishing LLC.

[[fin:Marjatuomipihlaja]]

[[Category:Maloideae]]
[[Category:Fruit]]
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