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pale leaf serviceberry, pale serviceberry, Utah service-berry, Utah serviceberry or shadbush

alder-leaf shadbush, amélanchier à feuilles d'aulne, saskatoon, saskatoon berry, saskatoon serviceberry, service berry, western serviceberry

Habit Shrubs, 0.5–5 m. Stems 1–100, often colonial, much branched. Shrubs, 1–12 m. Stems 1–50, solitary or colonial.
Leaves

mostly or fully unfolded;

petiole (3–)6–13(–22) mm;

blade suborbiculate to oval or obovate, (14–)21–36(–63) × (9–)16–32(–54) mm, base usually rounded to subcordate, sometimes cuneate, each margin with 0–3(–6) teeth on proximal 1/2 and (0–)3–5(–7) teeth in distalmost cm, largest teeth more than 1 mm, apex usually rounded to truncate or emarginate, sometimes acute and mucronate, abaxial surface moderately (sparsely or densely) hairy by flowering, sparsely to moderately hairy later, adaxial glabrous or sparsely (moderately) hairy later.

mostly unfolded;

petiole (3–)6.8–19.1(–28) mm;

blade usually elliptic to oval to suborbiculate, sometimes quadrangular, (14–)24–47(–67) × (7–)17–36(–55) mm, base usually subcordate to truncate, sometimes ± tapering or ± cuneate, each margin with 0–3(–9) teeth on proximal 1/2 and (0–)3–5(–8) teeth in distalmost cm, largest teeth more than 1 mm, apex rounded to truncate or occasionally acute or mucronate, abaxial surface sparsely to densely hairy (or glabrous) by flowering, sparsely to moderately hairy (or glabrous) later, adaxial glabrous or sparsely (moderately) hairy later.

Inflorescences

(4–)6–10(–13)-flowered, (8–)16–30(–43) mm.

(4–)6–11(–16)-flowered, (8–)14–43(–62) mm.

Pedicels

(0 or)1 or 2(or 3) subtended by a leaf, proximalmost (2–)7–16(–25) mm.

(0 or)1 or 2(or 3) subtended by a leaf, proximalmost (2–)3–20(–29) mm.

Flowers

sepals usually recurved after flowering, (1.6–)2.6–4.2(–6.5) mm;

petals oblanceolate to oblong, (4.9–)7.2–9.8(–14) × (1.6–)2.6–3.1(–5.3) mm;

stamens (9–)13–19(–20);

styles (2 or)3 or 4, (1.7–)2.3–3(–3.9) mm;

ovary apex moderately to densely hairy (or glabrous).

sepals erect to recurved after flowering, (1.4–)2.2–4(–4.9) mm;

petals oblanceolate to oval or obovate to elliptic, (5.7–)9.5–14(–18.8) × (2.2–)3.3–5.2(–6.6) mm;

stamens (10–)15–21(–22);

styles (3 or)4 or 5(or 6), (1.3–)2–2.9(–3.9) mm;

ovary apex moderately to densely hairy (or glabrous).

Pomes

purplish black, 6–10 mm diam. 2n = 4x.

black or purple, 8–15 mm diam.

Amelanchier utahensis

Amelanchier alnifolia

Phenology Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Jul–Sep.
Habitat Dry rocky slopes, canyons, stream banks, mountainsides, foothills, deserts
Elevation 900–3500 m (3000–11500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; WA; WY; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; KS; MN; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NT; ON; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The sparsely to moderately hairy mature leaves and twigs, rounded to truncate or emarginate leaf apices, relatively short petals, and reduced numbers of stamens and styles are distinctive characteristics for the wide-ranging and common Amelanchier utahensis. Within 25 years of its publication, about a dozen names were published that G. N. Jones (1946) considered synonyms of A. utahensis. Some recent floras have recognized some of these synonymized taxa, including A. bakeri Greene, A. covillei, A. mormonica C. K. Schneider, A. oreophila A. Nelson, and A. venulosa Greene.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Amelanchier alnifolia is widespread and polymorphic, and its taxonomic and geographic limits have been viewed differently. L. Cinq-Mars (1971) considered this species to range eastward to the Gaspé Peninsula. Disagreements about the boundary between A. alnifolia and A. humilis are evident in herbarium specimen annotations. The distinctness of the varieties of A. alnifolia has also been questioned. G. N. Jones (1946) treated the three varieties recognized here as distinct species and noted that the leaves of var. alnifolia and var. semiintegrifolia (A. florida) are virtually indistinguishable, and, although petal lengths of the two do not overlap, occasional larger-flowered var. alnifolia and occasional smaller-flowered var. semiintegrifolia occur, so the petal length distinction is not an absolute one. Geographically these two varieties are largely separate, with var. alnifolia occurring in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains and var. semiintegrifolia on the Pacific slopes of mountains from Alaska to northern California.

Amelanchier alnifolia is thought to hybridize with Sorbus scopulina (x\Amelasorbus jackii Rehder).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Ovary apices glabrous (or sparsely hairy); shrubs 1–2(–4) m.
var. pumila
1. Ovary apices moderately to densely hairy (or glabrous); shrubs or trees, 1–12 m
→ 2
2. Inflorescences (8–)26–43(–62) mm; proximalmost pedicels (5–)8–16(–29) mm.
var. alnifolia
2. Inflorescences (8–)14–26(–35) mm; proximalmost pedicels (2 or)3–8(–13) mm.
var. semiintegrifolia
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 650. FNA vol. 9, p. 651.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Maleae > Amelanchier Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Maleae > Amelanchier
Sibling taxa
A. alnifolia, A. amabilis, A. arborea, A. bartramiana, A. canadensis, A. cusickii, A. fernaldii, A. gaspensis, A. humilis, A. interior, A. intermedia, A. laevis, A. nantucketensis, A. nitens, A. pallida, A. sanguinea, A. spicata
A. amabilis, A. arborea, A. bartramiana, A. canadensis, A. cusickii, A. fernaldii, A. gaspensis, A. humilis, A. interior, A. intermedia, A. laevis, A. nantucketensis, A. nitens, A. pallida, A. sanguinea, A. spicata, A. utahensis
Subordinate taxa
A. alnifolia var. alnifolia, A. alnifolia var. pumila, A. alnifolia var. semiintegrifolia
Synonyms A. covillei, A. glabra, A. gracilis, A. prunifolia, A. utahensis subsp. covillei, A. utahensis var. covillei Aronia alnifolia
Name authority Koehne: Gatt. Pomac., 25, plate 2, fig. 20e. (1890) (Nuttall) Nuttall ex M. Roemer: Fam. Nat. Syn. Monogr. 3: 147. (1847)
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