Serviceberry
Habit | tree
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Height: | ⇕ | 20 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 20. to 40 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 40. |
Lifespan: | ⌛ | perennial |
Bloom: | ❀ | early spring |
Exposure: | ☼ | sun |
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Water: | ◍ | moist, moderate |
Features: | ✓ | deciduous, fall color |
USDA Zones: | 2 to 7.5 | |
Flower features: | ❀ | pink, white |
Rosaceae > |
The Serviceberry (Amelanchier), also known as juneberry, mespilus, sarvis, shad-blossom and shadbush, is a genus of about 25 species of small deciduous trees and large shrubs in the family Rosaceae.Serviceberries are very popular ornamental shrubs, grown for their flowers, bark, and fall color. 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 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 pioneers 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 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 flowers 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, Bucculatrix pomifoliella, Grey Dagger, Gypsy moth, Mottled Umber, 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.
ExpandRead about Serviceberry in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Cultivation
All serviceberries need similar conditions to grow well, requiring good drainage, air circulation (to discourage leaf diseases), watering during drought and acceptable soil.
Propagation
Propagation is by seed, divisions and grafting. Serviceberries graft so readily that grafts with other genera, such as Crataegus and Sorbus, are often successful.
Pests and diseases
Species
- 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.[1]
Gallery
References
- ↑ Amelanchier arborea, hort.net Plant Profiles, consulted 2007-01-24
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Serviceberry. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Serviceberry QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)