Amelanchier utahensis |
Amelanchier nantucketensis |
|
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pale leaf serviceberry, pale serviceberry, Utah service-berry, Utah serviceberry or shadbush |
Nantucket serviceberry, Nantucket shadbush |
|
Habit | Shrubs, 0.5–5 m. Stems 1–100, often colonial, much branched. | Shrubs, 0.3–2.5 m. Stems 1–70, rhizomatous, suckering and forming colonies. |
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. |
less than half-unfolded; petiole (6–)9–15(–22) mm; blade elliptic to oblanceolate or oblong-elliptic, (11–)29–41(–55) × (13–)19–29(–42) mm, base rounded to cuneate, each margin with 0–4(–10) teeth on proximal 1/2 and (0–)3–8(–12) teeth in distalmost cm, largest teeth less than 1 mm, apex subacute to rounded and mucronate, abaxial surface densely (moderately) hairy by flowering, surfaces sparsely hairy (or glabrous) later. |
Inflorescences | (4–)6–10(–13)-flowered, (8–)16–30(–43) mm. |
(4–)6–8(–11)-flowered, (12–)24–36(–53) mm. |
Pedicels | (0 or)1 or 2(or 3) subtended by a leaf, proximalmost (2–)7–16(–25) mm. |
(0 or)1(or 2) subtended by a leaf, proximalmost (4–)7–14(–38) 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 irregularly spreading or recurved after flowering, (1.3–)2–3(–3.9) mm; petals spatulate to oblong, (2.2–)3–4.5(–6.8) × (0.6–)1–2(–3) mm, sometimes bearing 1 or 2 tiny pollen sacs near margins on adaxial surfaces; stamens (12–)18–20; styles (4 or)5, (1.7–)2.6–3.7(–4.3) mm; ovary apex glabrous or sparsely to densely hairy. |
Pomes | purplish black, 6–10 mm diam. 2n = 4x. |
dark purple-blue, 7.5–10 mm diam. 2n = 4x. |
Amelanchier utahensis |
Amelanchier nantucketensis |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Jul–Sep. | Flowering Mar–May; fruiting Jun–Jul. |
Habitat | Dry rocky slopes, canyons, stream banks, mountainsides, foothills, deserts | Fields, sand-plain grasslands, heaths, glacial outwash plains, forest openings, disturbed sites, stream shores, among rocks or sand, dry habitats, ditches, swales |
Elevation | 900–3500 m (3000–11500 ft) | 0–400 m (0–1300 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; WA; WY; Mexico (Baja California)
|
CT; MA; MD; ME; NH; NJ; NY; RI; SC; VA; NS |
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.) |
In the absence of flowering material, identification of Amelanchier nantucketensis is tentative; it is easily confused with A. spicata. K. M. Wiegand (1912) thought that A. nantucketensis originated as a hybrid between A. spicata (which he called A. stolonifera) and A. canadensis (as A. oblongifolia). Amelanchier nantucketensis can reach 2.5 m but is usually much shorter, with spindly, straight, pale gray stems. Some petals of A. nantucketensis bear 1 or 2 tiny pollen sacs near margins on adaxial surfaces. Petal-borne pollen, which is highly unusual within the plant kingdom, is viable in A. nantucketensis and associated with a unique pollinator guild of native bees (A. C. Dibble et al. 1997). Conservation challenges for this apomictic tetraploid were discussed by Dibble and C. S. Campbell (1995). Amelanchier nantucketensis has been documented to be self-compatible and able to produce seed asexually (C. S. Campbell et al. 1987). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 650. | FNA vol. 9, p. 657. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Maleae > Amelanchier | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Maleae > Amelanchier |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | A. covillei, A. glabra, A. gracilis, A. prunifolia, A. utahensis subsp. covillei, A. utahensis var. covillei | A. oblongifolia var. micropetala |
Name authority | Koehne: Gatt. Pomac., 25, plate 2, fig. 20e. (1890) | E. P. Bicknell: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 38: 453. (1911) |
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