One of the most dramatic plants of spring wildflower season in the North-woods is the wonderful service-berry or Amelanchier. Around Marquette they just started blooming in full force this week. Many naturalist in our area are familiar with this groups attractive appearance; tight bark, spiraled buds, five petaled white(ish) flowers, and most importantly delicious fruits (a berry-like pome). Beyond calling them Amelanchier, most of us shy away from naming them to species level. I find myself often, when asked about the species name, mumbling something about them being confusing and then trying to redeem myself with a mention of A. arborea. With that said, they are confusing!
There seems to be a general agreement in the literature that the complex array of characters has been caused by Amelanchier's love of edge, cut, burned, and otherwise abused land that comes with human habitation (I would propose too many people wanting to name a new species as another culprit). This confusion also extends to the multitudes of common names of this group. Here is a list of several and their possible origins:
Serviceberry: Time to have that funeral service and put the dead underground that died during the winter. When this plant is in bloom its a sign that the ground has thawed out enough for digging.
Shadbush/shadblow: This name is for when the Shad (a type of fish) starts running, then this plant will be blooming.
Sugarplum: Being members of the rose family they are similar to plums but some individuals taste much better than others (a very interesting topic in itself).
Juneberry: The fruit are usually good picking in June, but hurry to your favorite plant because wildlife love these tasty fruits.
In Michigan we can divide this genus into 6 species, 3 which are species in their own right and 3 which should be treated broadly as species groups. The 3 species that I will discuss are the 3 diploids and the easiest to ID. The other 3 have a variety of polyploidy levels that include triploids and tetraploids (its even confusing to think about, no wonder they are left as complex's!).
A. bartramiana. This is one of my favorites of the 3 diploids. This species can be found in wet areas as well as edges and old dunes. In Marquette its common around the bike trail and the shore line. This is the most "cherry" looking species of shadblow around (The difference between the cherries (Prunus) and the Amelanchier's is in the Ovary (1 and superior in Cherries, more than 1 and inferior in Amelanchier)). Take a look at its stout petals! Also the flower are arranged differently than the other juneberries, having 1-3 pedicels coming out of the axils of the leaves. The leaves are also unique among the sugarplums. They are tapered toward the base while the others are squared.
A. laevis. Re-read everything I just wrote about A. arborea and then scratch that last sentence. The leaves of this species will be at least half grown at flowering time and will be completely glabrous at maturity. Also notice the red hue of the growing leaves.
Well that is a start of a really interesting group. Of course be careful of hybrids and don't be afraid to lump things together. Check out the Amelanchier page at the Michigan Flora for a key to all of our Michigan species. The key will also work with non-flowering specimens!
Get out and look at some plants!
-Mike
