Amelanchier laevis

COMMON NAME: Allegheny Serviceberry, Shadbush

GROWTH HABIT: Small tree (up to 12 m tall) or large shrub.

FOLIAGE: Alternate, simple, elliptic-ovate to ovate-oblong, 4-6 cm long.

BUDS: Up to 2 cm long, outwardly green tinged with red, the inner scales bright red above the middle.

BARK: Dull, grayish brown

FLOWERS: White , clustered, appearing when the small, young leaves are still folded. Each blossom has five thin petals.

FRUIT: June-August. Small, round, red, purple or blackish pome, less than 1 cm in diameter.

NATURAL HISTORY: The tree was named serviceberry because it blooms soon after the ground has thawed, when burial services were traditionally held in the north for people who had died during the winter. Its blooming time also often coincides with the running of shad in the the northeast; thus the names shadbush and shadblow. George Washington, who was fond of the serviceberry, planted it on the grounds of his Mount Vernon estate.

NATIVE HABITAT: Newfoundland to Georgia and Alabama, west to Michigan and Kansas.