Description
Serviceberry is a deciduous small tree that flowers in the early spring, producing showy white flowers with a slight fragrance. Edible deep red berries are ripe in the summer, and dark green leaves turn an orange-red in autumn. Perfect to plant along gardens or in moist areas.
Shadbush is the common name because its flowering coincides with the annual migration of shad in East Coast rivers.
It has several smooth, gray trunks that grow up to approximately 26 ft tall (8 m) and 15–20 ft (5–6 m) wide. They are ash-gray with dark stripes when young, and rough, with long furrows when older. Its branches slope upward to be almost parallel with the main stem. The twigs are hairy when young, becoming smooth with age. They are reddish brown in the winter and produce reddish-purple leaf buds. The 3–6 cm long and 2–3 cm wide leaves are oblong, finely toothed, rounded at base, and rounded at the apex with a small, sharp projection. There are 10–15 pairs of main veins.
The young leaves are covered with a soft, fine hair and will become dark green and smooth with age. The underside of the leaf is covered with soft white hairs. The leaves will only be half-grown during mid-bloom. The nodding inflorescence is indeterminate with many stemmed white flowers branching from a cottony axis. The five showy, oblong to lance-like petals are 7–10 mm (~ 0.5 in) long.
