Amelanchier laevis Wiegand

Smooth shadbush (en), Amélanchier de Lamarck (fr), Amélanchier d'Amérique (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Rosales > Rosaceae > Amelanchier

Characteristics

Tall, erect shrub or slender tree to 15 m; lvs elliptic to ovate-oblong or ovate, to 8 cm, shortly acuminate (or merely abruptly acute), finely and sharply serrate nearly to the rounded or subcordate base, the teeth more than 20 per side, and more than twice as many as the lateral veins, which curve and anastomose before reaching the margins; lvs at anthesis half-grown and glabrous or nearly so, with a prominent coppery-red cast that disappears before maturity; racemes lax, drooping in rain or soon after the twigs are cut; pedicels glabrous, 1–3 cm, the lower becoming 2.5–5 cm in fr; hypanthium glabrous externally, sep 3–4 mm, strongly reflexed after anthesis, tightly so in fr; pet slender, oblong to narrowly cuneate, mostly 15–22 mm; ovary glabrous on top; fr dark purple-red to black, sweet and juicy; mostly diploid, at least partly apomictic. Dry or moist upland woods; Nf. to Ont. and Minn., s. to Md., Ind., and Io., and in the mts. to Ga. and Ala. Apr.–June, a bit before no. 8 [Amelanchier arborea (F. Michx.) Fernald].
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Shrubs or trees, 2–25 m. Stems 1–20, fastigiate, solitary or in colonies. Leaves less than half-unfolded; petiole (7–)15–26(–36) mm; blade elliptic to ovate to oblong or obovate, (32–)48–75(–100) × (19–)29–42(–60) mm, base subcordate to rounded, each margin with (0–)10–23(–38) teeth on proximal 1/2 and (1–)5–9(–13) teeth in distalmost cm, largest teeth less than 1 mm, apex acute to acuminate, abaxial surface glabrous (or sparsely hairy) by flowering, surfaces glabrous later. Inflorescences (4–)7–11(–14)-flowered, (25–)43–65(–85) mm. Pedicels: 0 or 1(or 2) subtended by a leaf, proximalmost (7–)15–28(–41) mm. Flowers: sepals spreading to recurved after flowering, (1.9–)2.8–4(–5.3) mm; petals linear-oblong, (8–)12.5–17.3(–22.5) × (2.9–)3.9–5.7(–7.5) mm; stamens (14–)19–21(–24); styles (4 or)5(or 6), (2.5–)3.3–4.4(–5.3) mm; ovary apex glabrous (or sparsely hairy). Pomes dark purple, 8–15 mm diam. 2n = 2x, 4x.
A shrub.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread endozoochory
Mature width (meter) 4.0 - 6.0
Mature height (meter) 7.0 - 9.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 0.8
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Dry to moist thickets, woodland edges and edges of swamps in cool ravines and on hillsides. Dry to moist, deciduous, mixed, and coniferous forests, fields, thickets, roadsides; at elevations from sea level to 2,000 metres.
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It is a temperate plant.
Light 3-8
Soil humidity 3-6
Soil texture 1-5
Soil acidity 2-6
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 4-7

Usage

The fruit are made into jam or wine.
Uses environmental use medicinal wood
Edible fruits seeds
Therapeutic use Gynecological Aid (bark), Cyanogenetic (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings, seedlings or suckers.
Mode cuttings seedlings suckers
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) 12
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -29
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Amelanchier laevis leaf picture by ian ribowsky (cc-by-sa)
Amelanchier laevis leaf picture by Michel G (cc-by-sa)
Amelanchier laevis leaf picture by James MacWilliams (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Amelanchier laevis flower picture by Sara lynch (cc-by-sa)
Amelanchier laevis flower picture by Katie Katie Leishman (cc-by-sa)
Amelanchier laevis flower picture by Schofield Leo (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Amelanchier laevis world distribution map, present in Canada, Finland, France, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sweden, and United States of America

Conservation status

Amelanchier laevis threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:11206-2
WFO ID wfo-0001009248
COL ID CQNY
BDTFX ID 82832
INPN ID 618741
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Pyrus botryapium Amelanchier canadensis Amelanchier botryapium Amelanchier laevis Amelanchier laevis f. nitida Amelanchier laevis var. cordifolia Amelanchier arborea subsp. laevis Amelanchier arborea var. cordifolia Amelanchier arborea var. laevis Amelanchier laevis var. nitida Amelanchier laevis var. laevis