Species of the Month

These species have been featured in our FYI newsletter as "species of the month."

• Brook Lampreys
• Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)
• Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)
• Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)
• Blue Ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata)
• Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis fontinalis)
• Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica)
• Smooth Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis)

Smooth Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis)

Several species of serviceberry are native to Ontario and the common names are often used interchangeably – Serviceberry, Shadbush, Juneberry and Julyberry. These lovely shrubs are members of the Rose family.

Smooth Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis) is an erect shrub with several stems in a clump. It also has a tree form that grows up to 10 metres tall. Pretty white flowers (at left below) with five petals appear in April and early May and the leaves unfold and develop at the same time. The leaves are alternate on the stem and the margins have fine to coarse teeth. The leaves are smooth underneath, not hairy as other serviceberries are; hence, the name Smooth Serviceberry.

Dark reddish-purple to black berries (at right above) ripen in June and July which is why the common names include Juneberry and Julyberry. The berries are juicy and edible and make excellent pies and jam – if you can collect the fruit before the birds eat them. Robins seem to adore them. A close relative, Saskatoon Berry (A. alnifolia), is native to northwestern Ontario and the prairies.

Local pioneers coined the name serviceberry as this shrub comes into bloom each spring at the time funeral services were held for the people who died over the winter. The pioneers may also have given this shrub the other common name, shadbush, as it blooms when the shad fish come upstream to spawn.

Smooth Serviceberry is ideal in urban gardens as it does not get too tall and the leaves turn a lovely orange colour in the fall. The UTRCA plants several species of serviceberry in its reforestation programs as they are excellent wildlife shrubs. The flowers are a nectar source for bees and other pollinators early in the season and the summer berries are an important food source for birds and other animals.

This species is common throughout southern Ontario and prefers sunnier locations in clearings and thickets and along the edges of woods, fencerows and roadsides and in coniferous and mixed woods.

Contact: , Terrestrial Ecologist

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