Amelanchier laevis

Object Details

Description: This understory tree can be distinguished from another common serviceberry (A. arborea) by its hairless leaves and sweeter and juicier fruit. It is a beautiful tree throughout the year with its white flowers and bronze tinted leaves in the spring, edible fruit in the summer, a vivid red-orange leaves in the fall. It can benefit from some pruning to shape it, or it tends to grow in a more shrub-like fashion.
Hardiness: -30 - 20 F
Attracts: Bees, birds, butterflies (host plant for Red-Spotted Purple and Viceroy butterflies)
Bloom Time: April
Ethnobotanical Uses: Berries used in jams, jellies, and pies. Fruit has also been used by some Native Americans to make a high energy snack for trips called pemmican, which is made from the dried fruits, meat, and fat.
Provenance: From a cultivated plant not of known wild origin

Life Form: Deciduous tree
Average Height: 15-40' (4.6-12.2 meters)
Bark Characteristics: Gray and smooth with some white striping.
Bloom Characteristics: Five-petaled, white flowers grow in drooping clusters. Bloom before leaves emerge.
Fall Color: Red-orange
Foliage Characteristics: Simple, alternate, ovate leaves have serrated margins. Leaves are 2-4" (5-10.2 cm) long and emerge with a bronze tint in spring. Mature leaves are dark green.
Fragrance: Sweet (faint, flowers)
Fruit Characteristics: Berry-like fruit ripens to purple-black and resemble blueberries. June.
Structure: Upright, vase