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 arborea
Also called Downy serviceberry, Apple Shadbush, Shadblow, Downy Shadbush, Juneberry, Downy Juneberry, Allegheny Serviceberry
Common serviceberry is a small native North American tree grown for its early white spring blooms, edible berries and fall color. It grows best in full sun with good drainage and air circulation.
Amelanchier arborea (downy serviceberry or common serviceberry), is a small tree native to eastern North America from the Gulf Coast north to Thunder Bay in Ontario and Lake St. John in Quebec, and west to Texas and Minnesota.
Other common names are "shadberries" (as their blossoming coincides with the shad runs in New England), "Juneberries" (because the berries usually set on in June), and "Service" or "Sarvice" berries because their blooms mean that the muddy back roads into the "coves and hollers" of Appalachia will soon be passable for circuit-riding preachers and the communities will be able to have Sunday services again. (Some say, more morbidly, that it means the ground is soft enough to dig, which means that those who died over winter can be buried and have services said over them.)
This species tolerates varying light levels, but is at its best in full sun. It requires good drainage and air circulation and should be watered during drought. It is often confused with other species in the nursery trade. Propagation is by seed, divisions and grafting.
The edible fruit is drier than some other serviceberries, and it is harvested locally for pies and jams, and has been known to be used for wine; they were also used by Native Americans to make bread.
Saskatoon serviceberry · Asian Serviceberry · Oblongfruit serviceberry · Canadian serviceberry · Serviceberry · Low serviceberry · Pacific serviceberry · Intermediate Shadbush · Allegheny serviceberry · Nantucket serviceberry · Coastal serviceberry · Snowy Mespilus
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Amelanchier arborea 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
