The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Amelanchier
Also called June berry, Saskatoon, Shad blow, Sarvis, Shadbush, Juneberry, "May Cherry"
Amelanchier is a genus of about 20 species of deciduous shrubs and small trees in the rose family, most grown for spring flowers, fall colour and edible berries. Commonly grown members are the shadblow and saskatoon types, which need good drainage and air circulation.
Amelanchier ( am-ə-LAN-sheer), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear, is a genus of about 20 species of deciduous-leaved shrubs and small trees in the rose family (Rosaceae) that produce a pome fruit.
At least one species is native to every Canadian province and territory as well as every U.S. state except Hawaii. Two species occur in Europe and four in Asia. There are a number of cultivars.
Selections from A. alnifolia have been chosen for fruit production, with several named cultivars. Other cultivars appear to be derived from hybridization between A. alnifolia and A. stolonifera. Propagation is by seed, divisions, and grafting. Serviceberries graft so readily that grafts onto other genera, such as Crataegus and Sorbus, are often successful.
Several species are very popular 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.
Amelanchier is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, growing primarily in early successional habitats. It is most diverse taxonomically in North America, especially in southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States.
The fruit of several species is safe to eat raw, possessing a mild sweetness strongly accented by the almond-like flavour of the seeds. The fruit was harvested for food by the Aboriginal people and early settlers of western Canada.
Saskatoon serviceberry · Canadian serviceberry · Serviceberry · Low serviceberry · Allegheny serviceberry · Roundleaf serviceberry
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Amelanchier by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
