| Amelanchier | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Subfamily: | Amygdaloideae |
| Tribe: | Maleae |
| Subtribe: | Malinae |
| Genus: | Amelanchier Medik. |
| Species | |
|
About 20; see text | |
Amelanchier (/æməˈlænʃɪər/ am-ə-LAN-sheer),[1] also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum[2] or chuckley pear,[3] is a genus of about 20 species of deciduous-leaved shrubs and small trees in the rose family (Rosaceae).
Amelanchier is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, growing primarily in early successional habitats. It is most diverse taxonomically in North America, especially in the northeastern United States and adjacent southeastern Canada, and at least one species is native to every U.S. state except Hawaii and to every Canadian province and territory. Two species also occur in Asia, and one in Europe. The taxonomic classification of shadbushes has long perplexed botanists, horticulturalists, and others, as suggested by the range in number of species recognized in the genus, from 6 to 33, in two recent publications.[4][5] A major source of complexity comes from the occurrence of hybridization, polyploidy, and apomixis (asexual seed production), making species difficult to characterize and identify.[6]
A pome fruit, the berries are commonly consumed by wildlife and picked by humans for uses in baked goods. The Canadian city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is named after the berry via a Cree term describing the sweet fruit which was wild-harvested for food by Aboriginal people and early settlers of western Canada.[7]
- ^ "amelanchier". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ Campbell, C. S., Dibble, A. C., Frye, C. T., & Burgess, M. B. (2015). Amelanchier. In FNA Editorial Committee, Flora of North America 9. Magnoliophyta: Rosidae (in part): Rosales (in part). Oxford University Press, New York.
- ^ A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants: Genus Amelanchier
- ^ Landry P (1975). "Le concept d'espece et la taxonomie du genre Amelanchier (Rosacees)". Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 122 (5–6): 43–252. Bibcode:1975BSBF..122..243L. doi:10.1080/00378941.1975.10839332.
- ^ Phipps J. B.; Robertson K. R.; Smith P. G.; Rohrer J. R. (1990). "A checklist of the subfamily Maloideae (Rosaceae)". Can. J. Bot. 68 (10): 2209–2269. doi:10.1139/b90-288.
- ^ University of Maine: Amelanchier Systematics and Evolution
- ^ "Saskatoon berry". The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.