Native Shrubs in Wildlife Landscaping

Serviceberries

Good Food and Cover

Roundleaf Serviceberry (Juneberry)- Amelanchier sanquinea
Low Serviceberry- A. spicata
Oblong-fruited Serviceberry (Bartram Juneberry)- A. bartramiana

Form:
Roundleaf- Slender, straggling shrub to 8 feet tall, stems solitary or few in a clump, often with drooping branches.
Low- Upright shrub to 5 feet tall, spreading from roots and forming colonies.
Oblong-fruited- Upright to 9 feet tall, stems solitary or few in clumps.

Bark:
Tight, dark gray, with vertical, twisting lighter stripes on older stems.

Leaves:
Simple, alternate, deciduous, autumn color ranges from yellow to orange to reddish.
Roundleaf- Oval or oblong, coarsely toothed margin (6 to 12 teeth per inch).
Low- Oval or oblong, coarsely toothed margin (6 to 12 teeth per inch), often toothed only from tip to midpoint.
Oblong-fruited- Oblong, fine teeth on margin (14 to 30 per inch).

Flowers:
In general, serviceberries have clusters of drooping white showy flowers in early spring.
Roundleaf and Low- Terminal clusters of 3 to 14 long, white flowers (March-April).
Oblong-fruited- Terminal and axillary clusters of 1 to 2 long, white flowers (April).

Fruit:
Roundleaf and Low- Round berrylike fruit that is red to deep purple, sweet, juicy and containing many small seeds (June).
Oblong-fruited- Berrylike fruit is longer than thick and dark purplish-black in color (July).Acorn less than ½ inch long with ½ or less enclosed in the saucer-shaped cup.

WV Range:
Roundleaf- Mountain counties of Braxton, Grant, Mineral and Preston .
Low- Mostly west of high mountains in Berkeley, Grant, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Jackson, Monongalia, Nicholas, Pendleton, Preston, Tucker, Upshur and Webster counties.

Natural Habitat:
Roundleaf- Dry rocky or gravelly soils.
Low- Thickets.
Oblong-fruited- Bogs of higher mountains.

Wildlife Use:
The early spring flowers provide food for numerous insects. Twigs, leaves and buds are readily eaten by deer and rabbits. The fruits are heavily eaten by thrushes, many other songbirds, rodents, small mammals and bear. Grouse, turkey, squirrels, chipmunks, beaver and foxes will eat twigs, buds and fruits at various times of the year. Fruits are a particularly important food during early summer. Serviceberries do not provide especially good cover, shelter or reproductive sites. Two serviceberries, Common (A. arborea) and Smooth (A. laevis) are native in WV but do grow to tree size. They are not included in this listing but have similar characteristics to Roundleaf Serviceberry.

Horticulture:
Uses: Naturalizing, border, specimen.

Light: Partial shade to full sunlight.

Soil Moisture:
Roundleaf and Low- Moist to dry acid soils.
Oblong-fruited-Moist to wet soils.

Soil pH: Neutral to acid.

Problems: Occasionally affected by fire blight, mites and scales which are fairly easy to control.

Compiled by: William N. Grafton, naturalist, botanist and wildlife specialist, Morgantown , West Virginia .

Written by West Virginia Native Plant Society members and jointly published with the WV Wildlife Diversity Program.

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