SHADBUSH SERVICEBERRY (Amelanchier canadensis)
Height: 15 to 40 feet
Spread: 15 to 40 feet
Bloom Time: April
Bloom Description: White
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Suggested Use: Flowering Tree
Flower: Showy & Fragrant
Leaf: Good Fall Color – Orange-Red
Tolerate: Air Pollution Fruit: Showy & Edible
Use: Pollinator & bird attractant Native to: Jefferson County
This small understory tree, also known as Canadian Serviceberry, is one of the finest native trees to this portion of Ohio along with its cousin the Allegheny Serviceberry. The plant can serve as a small tree or large shrub and is commonly multi-trunked. It features showy white flowers in drooping clusters which are present before the onset of leaves. The common name has several origins. The Shadbush derives from the fact that when the tree begins to bloom the shad fish would usually inundate rivers of the eastern United States on their way to spawn. The serviceberry nomenclature comes from the plants blooming time being a harbinger for Easter Services. The journals of Lewis & Clark call out the plant as the expedition survived solely on the berries of the tree when food was scarce. The dark blue-black berries ripen in June and are edible and great filling for pies.
The blooms attract various native bees and honey bees. The tree is a host plant for 105 species of butterflies and moths in the greater Jefferson County area including the Red Spotted Admiral, Luna Moth, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. The Shadblow Serviceberry will attract 16 genera of birds including Cedar Waxwings, Warblers, Mockingbirds, Chickadees, Woodpeckers, and Grosbeaks.
