Amelanchier interior
Amelanchier sanguinea
amélanchier de l'intérieur, inland serviceberry, Wiegand's shadbush
amélanchier sanguin, red-twigged shadbush, round-leaf serviceberry, round-leaf shadbush, shore shadbush
not fully unfolded;
petiole 10–30 mm;
blade broadly ovate to elliptic, 30–70 × 20–50 mm, base rounded to subcordate, each margin with 3–15 teeth on proximal 1/2 and (2–)4 or 5(–7) teeth in distalmost cm, largest teeth less than 1 mm, apex short acuminate to apiculate, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely hairy by flowering, surfaces glabrous later.
fully unfolded or nearly so;
petiole (8–)11.3–18.1(–25) mm;
blade elliptic-oblong to suborbiculate or obovate, (27–)38–59(–78) × (19–)26–43(–55) mm, base rounded to subcordate, each margin with (0–)4–11(–16) teeth on proximal 1/2 and (0–)3–6(–8) teeth in distalmost cm, largest teeth more than 1 mm, apex rounded and mucronate to subacute, abaxial surface densely (sparsely) hairy by flowering, surfaces sparsely (moderately) hairy (or glabrous) later.
4–12-flowered, 30–75 mm.
(4–)7–10(–13)-flowered, (20–)30–51(–68) mm.
1 or 2 subtended by a leaf, proximalmost 10–45 mm.
0–2 subtended by a leaf, proximalmost (8–)11–23(–36) mm.
sepals recurved after flowering, 2–5 mm;
petals obovate, 6–15 × 4–5 mm;
stamens 20;
styles 5, 3–5 mm;
ovary apex densely (moderately) hairy (or glabrous).
sepals recurved or spreading after flowering, (1.8–)2.5–4.1(–6) mm;
petals linear to narrowly spatulate, (8–)10.7–16.1(–20) × (2–)3.5–5.6(–7) mm;
stamens (16–)19–21(–24);
styles (4 or)5, (1.6–)2.5–3.4(–4.6) mm;
ovary apex densely (moderately) hairy.
purple-black, 6–8 mm diam. 2n = 4x.
dark purple or almost black, 10 mm diam. 2n = 2x, 3x, 4x.
Amelanchier interior
Amelanchier sanguinea
Amelanchier interior is distinguished by its capacity to grow into a tree to ten meters and by having sparsely hairy young leaves that are often reddish and densely hairy ovary apices. E. L. Nielsen (1939) differentiated A. interior and A. wiegandii on the basis of leaves being carinate in A. wiegandii as opposed to flat in A. interior, and leaf sinuses rounded versus acute. G. N. Jones (1946) considered those differences to be slight, and he included A. wiegandii in A. interior. The authors follow Jones, but retain the common name Wiegand’s shadbush to commemorate Wiegand’s early insights about the taxonomy of Amelanchier. M. L. Fernald (1950) considered A. wiegandii as suggesting a small-leaved A. laevis but with shorter buds, fewer teeth, fewer veins, and summit of ovary heavily tomentose. P. Landry (1975) thought A. wiegandii to be the hybrid of A. arborea and A. sanguinea, and E. G. Voss (1972–1996, vol. 2) reasoned that A. interior is a hybrid swarm involving A. laevis (or sometimes A. arborea) and plants of the A. spicata and/or A. sanguinea complex. A hybrid origin of A. interior from A. laevis and A. sanguinea is reasonable given that stem height, the number of leaf teeth, and petal length are more or less intermediate between those two species. DNA sequences from ITS region indicate that A. interior (A. wiegandii) is a possible later-generation hybrid involving a member of the western North American ITS clade (which also includes A. humilis and A. sanguinea of eastern North America) and some eastern North American taxon (C. S. Campbell et al. 1997). Multiple hybrid origins, possibly from different species, may explain the variability of A. interior. Amelanchier interior has unusually large ranges of lengths for proximal pedicels, sepals, and petals. The leaves of A. wiegandii were described by Nielsen as bronze at flowering; Jones described the leaves of A. interior as green when young. The authors assume that A. interior as they interpret it is polymorphic for the color of young leaves.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
This treatment follows G. N. Jones’s (1946) and E. G. Voss’s (1972–1996, vol. 2) with the inclusion of Amelanchier huronensis in A. sanguinea. The former was considered to differ from A. sanguinea in having longer proximalmost pedicels, sepals, and petals, but overlap occurs in the ranges of these characters. Moreover, A. sanguinea has been seen far from the range of A. huronensis (southern Ontario, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) with petals as long as the longest reported for A. huronensis. Occurrences of A. sanguinea in Kentucky and North Dakota are questionable, as no specimens were actually seen to confirm the presence of this species from these states.
Amelanchier sanguinea has shorter petals than A. amabilis. Amelanchier humilis differs from A. amabilis and A. sanguinea in having shorter proximalmost pedicels, erect inflorescences, and shorter petals. Amelanchier amabilis, A. sanguinea, and, to a lesser extent, A. humilis resemble western North American congeners.
Amelanchier sanguinea flowers 10 to 14 days after A. arborea and A. laevis, according to K. M. Wiegand (1912), and at the same time as A. amabilis. Hybrids between A. sanguinea and A. bartramiana, A. canadensis, A. laevis, and A. spicata have been reported (M. L. Fernald 1950; P. Landry 1975). The authors have observed A. sanguinea flowering with A. amabilis but no putative hybrids were observed.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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