- Amelanchier canadensis
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- For the candy, see sugar plum.
Amelanchier canadensis 
Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Rosids Order: Rosales Family: Rosaceae Genus: Amelanchier Species: A. canadensis Binomial name Amelanchier canadensis
(L.) Medik.Synonyms Amelanchier canadensis (Canadian serviceberry, chuckleberry, currant-tree,[1] Juneberry, Shadblow Serviceberry, Shadblow, Shadbush, Shadbush Serviceberry, Sugarplum, Thicket Serviceberry) is a species of Amelanchier native to eastern North America in Canada from Newfoundland west to southern Ontario, and in the United States from Maine south to Alabama. It is largely restricted to wet sites, particularly on the Atlantic Coastal Plain, growing at altitudes from sea level up to 200 m.[2][3][4]
Contents
Growth
It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 0.5–8 m tall with one to many stems and a narrow, fastigiate crown. The leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to ovate-oblong, 1–5.5 cm long and 1.8–2.8 cm broad with a rounded to sub-acute apex; they are downy below, and have a serrated margin and an 8–15 mm petiole. The flowers are produced in early spring in loose racemes 4–6 cm long at the ends of the branches; each raceme has four to ten flowers. The flower has five white petals 7.6–11 mm long and 2–4 mm broad, and 20 stamens. The fruit is a pome, 7–10 mm diameter, dark purple when ripe; it is edible and sweet.[3][4]
Medicinal uses
It is used as a medicinal plant,[5] food, and ornamental plant.[6] It is sometimes made into bonsai.
References
- ^ Amelanchier spp. Family: Rosaceae Serviceberry Center for Wood Anatomy Research, USDA Forest Service
- ^ Germplasm Resources Information Network: Amelanchier canadensis
- ^ a b University of Maine: Amelanchier canadensis var. canadensis
- ^ a b University of Maine: Amelanchier canadensis var. obovalis
- ^ Plants For A Future: Amelanchier canadensis
- ^ Bailey, L. H. (2005). Manual of Gardening. (Second Edition) Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/9550.
External links
Categories:- Amelanchier
- Flora of Canada
- Flora of the United States
- Medicinal plants
- Trees of North Carolina
- Trees of Alabama
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