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Of Renewal and Sad Tidings, The Amelanchier

© Wesley Ford

I think I like shad blow the best. Its just something about the way the name slips through the teeth and then bursts out of the mouth. Then there's sarvice , spoken with a drawl, service berry, shad bush, June berry, snowy mesopilus; and a slew of other colloquial names. If there ever was a small tree that generated emotions in times past, it is the service berry. Depending upon your appellation, this tree genus represents both a time of renewal and a time for sad departings. It is primarily an eastern North American tree that is steeped in traditions of times past. Of times before backhoes and motor launches, harkening back to when we depended upon our backs and our knowledge of nature's signals to live our lives.

There are about 30 species of the genus Amelanchier, most of which are native to North America. Just about all bear the serviceberry name in some form or another. About 5 or 6 are commonly known and used in landscape situations. Common species in North America include A. arborea, downey service berry, A. Canadensis, shadblow service berry, A. alnifolia, Saskatoon Service Berry, A. Lamarckii, Lamarcki Service Berry and A. Laevia, Allegheny service berry. There is also a cross, A. x grandiflora, commonly called apple serviceberry. All of these species are hardy to zone 3. The different species of Amelanchier can be very difficult to tell apart. Most locations will host only 1or 2 species natively. Others may be present as ornamental introductions. The development of crosses further complicates the identification issue. While there are a few named cultivars, none, to my thinking, seem to have enough of any special feature to be worth a serious search for. In fact, in the nursery trade, this genus is rather uncommon, much under-planted considering its fine features. You may have to search a bit to uncover a specimen at your local nurseries.

In the spring of the year we gardeners revel in renewal, the bursting forth of new green foliage, of early spring blooms that arrive before the unfolding of leaves. And Amelanchier is among the earliest of the trees to erupt into bloom, which is at the root of many of its names. In the eastern most reaches of its North American range, the species arborea and Canadensis herald the running of the androgynous shad up the rivers and larger creeks. It announces to the waterman and the sport fisherman that it is time to get the seine down and head to the water, for one of the most delicious and filling of fish is can now be had. Yes the silly sex-crazed shad will swim right into your seine when the shadblow is in bloom. And what a catch it is, for this fish is a true delicacy. No wonder that coastal residents celebrate the appearance of these white beauties.