View source for Amelanchier

{{Short description|Service berry}}
{{Hatnote|Serviceberry redirects here; see also [[Service tree]].}}
{{redirect|June berry|the artist|June Berry}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Amelanchier grandiflora2.jpg
| display_parents = 3
| taxon = Amelanchier
| authority = [[Friedrich Kasimir Medikus|Medik.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = About 20; see text
|}}

'''''Amelanchier''''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|m|ə|ˈ|l|æ|n|ʃ|ɪər}} {{respell|am-ə|LAN|sheer}}),<ref>{{OED|amelanchier}}</ref> also known as '''shadbush''', '''shadwood''' or '''shadblow''', '''serviceberry''' or '''sarvisberry''' (or just '''sarvis'''), '''juneberry''', '''saskatoon''', '''sugarplum''', '''wild-plum'''<ref name=FNA>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=101333 Campbell, C. S., Dibble, A. C., Frye, C. T., & Burgess, M. B. (2015). ''Amelanchier''. In FNA Editorial Committee, ''Flora of North America'' 9. Magnoliophyta: Rosidae (in part): Rosales (in part). Oxford University Press, New York.]</ref> or '''chuckley pear''',<ref name=dfnl>A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants: [http://www.digitalnaturalhistory.com/genus_amelanchier_index.htm ''Genus Amelanchier'']</ref> is a [[genus]] of about 20 species of [[deciduous]]-leaved [[shrub]]s and small [[tree]]s in the rose family ([[Rosaceae]]).

''Amelanchier'' is native to temperate regions of the [[Northern Hemisphere]], growing primarily in [[Ecological succession|early successional habitats]]. It is most diverse taxonomically in [[North America]], especially in the northeastern [[United States]] and adjacent southeastern [[Canada]], and at least one species is native to every U.S. state except [[Hawaii]] and to every Canadian province and territory. Two species also occur in [[Asia]], and one in [[Europe]]. The taxonomic classification of shadbushes has long perplexed botanists, horticulturalists, and others, as suggested by the range in number of species recognized in the genus, from 6 to 33, in two recent publications.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Landry P | year = 1975 | title = Le concept d'espece et la taxonomie du genre Amelanchier (Rosacees) | journal = Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. | volume = 122 | issue = 5–6 | pages = 43–252 | doi = 10.1080/00378941.1975.10839332 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 1975BSBF..122..243L }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author1 = Phipps J. B. | author2 = Robertson K. R. | author3 = Smith P. G.| author4 = Rohrer J. R. | year = 1990 | title = A checklist of the subfamily Maloideae (Rosaceae) | journal = Can. J. Bot. | volume = 68 | issue = 10 | pages = 2209–2269 | doi = 10.1139/b90-288 }}</ref> A major source of complexity comes from the occurrence of [[hybrid (biology)|hybridization]], [[polyploidy]], and [[apomixis]] (asexual seed production), making [[species]] difficult to characterize and identify.<ref name=umaine>University of Maine: [http://amelanchier.umaine-biology.net/ ''Amelanchier'' Systematics and Evolution]</ref>

A [[pome|pome fruit]], the berries are commonly consumed by wildlife and picked by humans for uses in baked goods. The Canadian city of [[Saskatoon]], [[Saskatchewan]] is named after the berry via a [[Cree]] term describing the sweet fruit which was wild-harvested for food by Aboriginal people and early settlers of western Canada.<ref name="canada">{{cite web |title=Saskatoon berry |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/saskatoon-berry |publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=13 July 2024 |date=2024}}</ref>

==Description==
The various species of ''Amelanchier'' grow to {{cvt|0.2–20|m}} tall; some are small trees, some are multistemmed, clump-forming shrubs, and yet others form extensive low shrubby patches ([[vegetative reproduction|clones]]). The [[Bark (botany)|bark]] is gray or less often brown, and in tree species smooth or fissuring when older. The [[leaf|leaves]] are deciduous, cauline, alternate, simple, lanceolate to elliptic to orbiculate, 0.5–10 x 0.5–5.5&nbsp;cm, thin to coriaceous, with surfaces above glabrous or densely tomentose at flowering, and glabrous or more or less hairy beneath at maturity.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

The [[inflorescence]]s are terminal, with 1–20 flowers, erect or drooping, either in clusters of one to four flowers, or in [[raceme]]s with 4–20 flowers. The [[flowers]] have five white (rarely somewhat pink, yellow, or streaked with red), linear to orbiculate petals, 2.6–25&nbsp;mm long, with the petals in one species (''A. nantucketensis'') often andropetalous (bearing apical microsporangia adaxially). The flowers appear in early spring, "when the [[shad]] run" according to North-American tradition (leading to names such as "shadbush"). The [[fruit]] is a berry-like [[pome]], red to purple to nearly black at maturity, 5–15&nbsp;mm diameter, insipid to delectably sweet, maturing in summer.<ref name=umaine/>

''Amelanchier'' plants are valued horticulturally, and their fruits are important to wildlife. Some orchards are cultivated in the [[Canadian Prairies|Canadian prairie provinces]] which are subjected to severe winter cold of {{cvt|-60|C|F}}, indicating the [[Hardiness (plants)|hardiness]] of the plant having a lifespan up to 50 years.<ref name=canada/>

==Species==
[[File:Amelanchier alnifolia 6338.JPG|thumb|right|''Amelanchier alnifolia'']]
Species accepted by the [[Plants of the World Online]] as of {{as of|2023|April}}:<ref name="Plants of the World Online 2017">{{cite web | title=Amelanchier Medik. - Plants of the World Online | website=Plants of the World Online | date=2017-09-13 | url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30005906-2 | access-date=2023-04-23}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific Name !! Common Name !! Distribution
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier alnifolia var. semiintegrifolia 4.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier alnifolia]]'' {{small|(Nutt.) Nutt. ex M.Roem.}} || Saskatoon serviceberry, alder-leaved shadbush, saskatoon, saskatoon berry || Alaska across most of western Canada and in the western and north-central United States
|-
|[[File:Blutrote Felsenbirne (Amelanchier sanguinea) 5868.JPG|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier amabilis]]'' {{small|Wiegand}} || || E. Canada to NE. U.S.A
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier arborea sarvis close 4×3.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier arborea]]'' {{small|(F.Michx.) Fernald}} || downy serviceberry || Gulf Coast north to Thunder Bay in Ontario and Lake St. John in Quebec, and west to Texas and Minnesota
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier asiatica4.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier asiatica]]'' {{small|(Siebold & Zucc.) Endl. ex Walp.}} || Korean juneberry or Asian serviceberry ||China, Japan, and Korea
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier bartramiana 15-p.bot-amel.bartra-03.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier bartramiana]]'' {{small|(Tausch) M.Roem.}} || mountain shadbush ||E. Canada to NE. U.S.A
|-
|[[File:加拿大唐棣 Amelanchier canadensis -上海辰山植物園 Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden- (17262961731).jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier canadensis]]'' {{small|(L.) Medik.}} || Canada serviceberry, shadblow serviceberry,<ref name=uky>{{Cite web |title=Shadblow Serviceberry {{!}} Department of Horticulture |url=https://www.uky.edu/hort/Shadblow-Serviceberry |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=www.uky.edu}}</ref> bilberry,<ref name=cwf1>Canadian Wildlife Federation: [http://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/flora/serviceberries.html ''Serviceberries'']</ref> eastern shadbush, Indian pear ||Canada from Newfoundland west to southern Ontario, and in the United States from Maine south to Alabama.
|-
| ||''[[Amelanchier cretica]]'' {{small|(Willd.) DC.}} || || South eastern Europe
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier alnifolia var. cusickii 1.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier cusickii]]'' {{small| Fernald}} || ||West Canada to West U.S.A
|-
| ||''[[Amelanchier fernaldii]]'' {{small| Wiegand}} || || Eastern Canada.
|-
| ||''[[Amelanchier gaspensis]]'' {{small| (Wiegand) Fernald & Weatherby}} || ||Quebec (Gaspé Peninsula)
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier humilis 128105342.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier humilis]]'' {{small| Wiegand}} || low shadbush || Canada (from Saskatchewan to Québec) and the northeastern and north-central United States (from Nebraska and the Dakotas east as far as Vermont and New Jersey).
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier wiegandii - blossoms - 2.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier interior]]'' {{small| E.L.Nielsen}} || Wiegand's shadbush ||E. Canada to N. Central & NE. U.S.A.
|-
| ||''[[Amelanchier intermedia]]'' {{small| Spach}} || ||E. Canada to N. Central & NE. U.S.A.
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier laevis 15-p.bot-amel.laevi-17.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier laevis]]'' {{small| Wiegand}} || smooth shadbush, smooth serviceberry,<ref>smooth serviceberry, TD Tree Bee, https://treebee.ca/trees/smooth-serviceberry/</ref> Allegheny serviceberry ||eastern Canada and the eastern United States, from Newfoundland west to Ontario, Minnesota, and Iowa, south as far as Georgia and Alabama.
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier nantucketensis (Nantucket Juneberry) (34321014735).jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier nantucketensis]]'' {{small| E.P.Bicknell}} || Nantucket serviceberry ||New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, Maine, and Nova Scotia.
|-
|[[File:1024 Felsenbirne (Amelanchier obovalis)-2247.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier obovalis]]'' {{small| (Michx.) Ashe}} || Southern Juneberry, Coastal serviceberry || United States (from New Jersey to Georgia)
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier ovalis-Amélanchier des bois-20210329.jpg|120px]]||''[[Amelanchier ovalis]]'' {{small| Medik.}} || snowy mespilus<ref name=fe1>Flora Europaea: [http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Amelanchier+&SPECIES_XREF=ovalis&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= ''Amelanchier ovalis'']</ref> ||southern Europe, as well as North Africa and the Middle East.
|-
| ||''[[Amelanchier pallida]]'' {{small| Greene}} || pale serviceberry or western serviceberry|| United States (California and Arizona)
|-
| ||''[[Amelanchier parviflora]]'' {{small| Boiss.}} || ||Turkey
|-
|[[File:Blutrote Felsenbirne (Amelanchier sanguinea) 5868.JPG|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier sanguinea]]'' {{small| (Pursh) DC.}} || red-twigged shadbush or roundleaf serviceberry ||New Brunswick to Saskatchewan, Canada to northeastern United States, and the Great Lakes region and south as far as northern Georgia
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier asiatica var. sinica 2016-05-17 0126b.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier sinica]]'' {{small| (C.K.Schneid.) Chun}} || Chinese serviceberry<ref name=foc2>Flora of China: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200010605 ''Amelanchier sinica'']</ref> ||Central & South China.
|-
| ||''[[Amelanchier stolonifera]]'' {{small| Wiegand}} || running serviceberry ||E. Canada to N. Central & NE. U.S.A.
|-
| ||''[[Amelanchier turkestanica]]'' {{small| Litv.}} ||  ||Kazakhstan (Bayanaul Hills)
|-
|[[File:Amelanchier utahensis 3.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Amelanchier utahensis]]'' {{small| Koehne}} || Utah serviceberry ||western North America.
|-
|}

===Natural hybrids===
* ''[[Amelanchier × lamarckii]]'' {{small| F.G.Schroed.}} ( A. arborea × A. laevis.)– Juneberry
* ''[[Amelanchier × neglecta]]'' {{small| Eggl. ex K.R.Cushman, M.B.Burgess, E.T.Doucette & C.S.Campb.}} (A. bartramiana × A. laevis.)
* ''[[Amelanchier × quinti-martii]]'' {{small| Louis-Marie}} (A. arborea × A. bartramiana. )
* ''[[Amelanchier × spicata]]'' {{small|(Lam.) K.Koch}}  (A. alnifolia × A. humilis.) -  low juneberry

===Garden hybrids===
Since classifications have varied greatly over the past century, species names are often used interchangeably in the nursery trade. Several natural or horticultural [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]]s also exist, and  many ''A. arborea'' and ''A. canadensis'' plants that are offered for sale are actually hybrids, or entirely different species. [[Amelanchier × grandiflora|''A''. × ''grandiflora'']] is another hybrid of garden origin, between ''A. arborea'' and ''A. laevis''. The cultivar 'La Paloma' has gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]].<ref name = RHSPF>{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/167959/i-Amelanchier-i-La-Paloma/Details
| title = ''Amelanchier'' 'La Paloma
| publisher=Royal Horticultural Society | date=2017 | access-date=5 January 2018}}</ref>

A taxon called ''[[Amelanchier lamarckii]]'' (or ''A.'' x ''lamarckii'') is very widely cultivated and [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalized]] in Europe, where it was introduced in the 17th century.  It is [[apomixis|apomictic]], breeding true from seed, and probably of hybrid origin, perhaps descending from a cross between ''A. laevis'' and either ''A. arborea'' or ''A. canadensis''.  While ''A. lamarckii'' is known to be of North American origin, probably from eastern Canada, it is not known to occur naturally in the wild in North America.<ref name=bean1>Bean, W. J. (1976). ''Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles'' 8th ed., vol. 1. John Murray {{ISBN|0-7195-1790-7}}.</ref><ref name=rushforth>Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins {{ISBN|0-00-220013-9}}.</ref>

==Etymology==
{{Refimprove|section|date=April 2022}}
The origin of the generic name ''Amelanchier'' is probably derived from ''amalenquièr'', ''amelanchièr'', the [[Occitan language|Provençal]] names of the European ''[[Amelanchier ovalis]]''.<ref name=jeps>Jepson Flora: [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Amelanchier+alnifolia ''Amelanchier alnifolia'']</ref>

The name ''serviceberry'' comes from the similarity of the fruit to the related European ''[[Sorbus]]''.{{cn|date=July 2024}} Juneberry refers to the fruits of certain species becoming ripe in June. The name saskatoon originated from a Cree noun  ''misâskwatômina'' (''misāskwatōmina'', ''misaaskwatoomina'') for ''[[Amelanchier alnifolia]]''.<ref name=canada/> The city of [[Saskatoon]], [[Saskatchewan]], is named after this plant.<ref name=canada/>

Shadberry refers to the [[shad]] runs in certain New England streams, which generally took place about when the trees bloomed.<ref name=uky/>

==Ecology==
''Amelanchier'' plants are preferred browse for deer and rabbits, and heavy browsing pressure can suppress natural regeneration. [[Caterpillar]]s of such [[Lepidoptera]] as [[brimstone moth]], [[brown-tail]], [[grey dagger]], [[mottled umber]], [[rough prominent]], [[Satellite (moth)|the satellite]], [[winter moth]], and the red-spotted purple and the white admiral (both ''[[Limenitis arthemis]]''), as well as various other herbivorous insects feed on ''Amelanchier.'' Many insects and diseases that attack orchard trees also affect this genus, in particular trunk borers and ''[[Gymnosporangium]]'' rust. In years when late flowers of ''Amelanchier'' overlap those of [[Rose|wild roses]] and [[Rubus|brambles]], bees may spread bacterial [[fireblight]].

==Uses and cultivation==
[[File:Amelanchier ovalis3.JPG|thumb|right|Fruit and leaves of ''Amelanchier ovalis'']]
The fruit of several species is safe to eat raw, possessing a mild sweetness strongly accented by the almond-like flavour of the seeds.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Angier|first=Bradford|url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetoedib00angi/page/200/mode/2up|title=Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=1974|isbn=0-8117-0616-8|location=Harrisburg, PA|pages=200|oclc=799792|author-link=Bradford Angier}}</ref> Selections from ''[[Amelanchier alnifolia]]'' have been chosen for fruit production, with several named [[cultivar]]s.<ref name=register>{{cite book|author=American Society for Horticultural Science|year=1997|title=The Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit & Nut Varieties, 3rd ed.|publisher=ASHS Press}}</ref> Other cultivars appear to be derived from hybridization between ''A. alnifolia'' and ''[[Amelanchier stolonifera|A. stolonifera]]''.<ref name=register/> Propagation is by seed, divisions, and grafting. Serviceberries graft so readily that grafts onto other genera, such as ''[[Crataegus]]'' and ''[[Sorbus]]'', are often successful.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}}

The fruit can be harvested for pies, muffins, jams, and wine.<ref name=":0" /> The [[saskatoon berry]] is harvested commercially. One version of the Native American food [[pemmican]] was flavored by serviceberry fruits in combination with minced dried meat and fat.<ref name=canada/><ref name="canada-pem">{{cite web |title=Pemmican |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pemmican |publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=13 July 2024 |date=2024}}</ref>

The [[wood]] 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.  Native Americans used it for arrow shafts. Members of the [[Pit River Tribe]] would use the wood to create a sort of body armor, crafting it into a heavy robe or overcoat and corset armor worn during fighting.<ref>Merriam, C. Hart 1966 Ethnographic Notes on California Indian Tribes. University of California Archaeological Research Facility, Berkeley (p. 222)</ref>

===Garden history===
Several species are very popular [[ornamental plant|ornamental shrubs]], grown for their flowers, bark, and fall color. All need similar conditions to grow well, requiring good drainage, air circulation (to discourage leaf diseases), watering during drought, and [[soil]] appropriate for the species.

[[George Washington]] planted specimens of ''Amelanchier'' on the grounds of his estate, [[Mount Vernon (plantation)|Mount Vernon]], in [[Virginia]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.whatamieating.com/juneberry.html ''Juneberry''], in What Am I Eating? A Food Dictionary

{{Taxonbar|from=Q156957}}
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[[Category:Amelanchier| ]]
[[Category:Rosaceae genera]]
[[Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Fruit trees]]