Inland serviceberry

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked
SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Inland serviceberry is usually a large, 3′ to 40′ tall, deciduous shrub rising on multiple stems. Sometimes it is a small tree. It is usually solitary but sometimes forms a small colony. It occurs only in a narrow latitudinal range in eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and Maine, east to southern Ontario and Minnesota, and south to northern Illinois and Ohio. It is found in dry forests, fields, and thickets, and on hillsides, bluffs, and stream banks. It is sometimes also found in bogs. It grows under full or partial sun in moist to dry, sandy or sandy-loamy soil.

Inland serviceberry is somewhat variable in appearance, having characteristics intermediate between other serviceberries, and having a large range of lengths of flower stalks (pedicels), floral leaves (sepals), and petals. What is now defined as inland serviceberry may be hybrid swarm involving smooth serviceberry, low serviceberry, and/or roundleaf serviceberry.

The bark is thin, smooth, and gray. First year branchlets are greenish-brown, slender, flexible, and hairless. In the second year they are brown to reddish-brown with a few scattered, light-colored pores (lenticels). Terminal buds are up to ½″ long and sharply pointed. They are covered with reddish-brown scales which may be hairy, at least at the edges, or hairless.

The leaves are alternate and are not fully developed at flowering time. Young leaves are green, slightly to moderately tinged with bronze, and hairy on the upper and lower surfaces. They are on ⅜″ to 1 3⁄16″ (10 to 30 mm) long leaf stalks (petioles). The petioles are hairy when young, becoming hairless or almost hairless when mature. Fully developed leaves are broadly egg-shaped to elliptic, 1 3⁄16″ to 2¾″ (30 to 70 mm) long, and ¾″ to 2″ (20 to 50 mm) wide. The leaf blades are rounded to almost heart-shaped at the base and taper to a point at the tip with concave sides along the tip. Sometimes they are broadly or narrowly angled at the tip and have a short, sharp, abrupt point. The upper surface is dark green and hairless. The lower surface is pale green and hairless or almost hairless. The margins have 21 to 40 short, sharp, forward pointing teeth on each side. The longest tooth is less than 1⁄32″ (1 mm) long. The basal half of each side has just 3 to 15 teeth. Larger leaves have at least 27 teeth per side. The upper (distal) half has usually 4 or 5 teeth every ⅜″ (1 cm).

The inflorescence is an unbranched, 1 3⁄16″ to 3″ (30 to 75 mm) long cluster (raceme) of 4 to 12 flowers at the end of the stems and branches. The flowers appear from late April to early June when the leaves are just one-third to two-thirds grown and not completely unfolded. Each flower is on a hairless or almost hairless flower stalk (pedicel). The lower pedicels may be ⅜″ to 1¾″ long. At least 1 or 2 of the pedicels are subtended by a leaf.

The flowers are large, about 1″ in diameter, and showy. They have both male and female reproductive parts. There are 5 sepals, 5 petals, 20 stamens, and 5 styles. The sepals are green, triangular, and short, 1⁄16″ to 3 ⁄16″ (2 to 5 mm) long. They are erect in flower, bent backward in fruit. The petals are white, inversely egg-shaped, ¼″ to ⅝″ (6 to 15 mm) long, and ⅛″ to 3⁄16″ (4 to 5 mm) wide. The ovary is densely hairy at the top.

The fruit is a globe-shaped, ¼″ to 5⁄16″ (6 to 8 mm) in diameter pome with 4 to 10 seeds. It is green at first, becoming dark purple at maturity.

Height

3′ to 40′

Flower Color

White

Similar Species

When in flower in the spring, inland serviceberry may be mistaken for American plum. The petals of inland serviceberry taper evenly to a narrowed base. The petals of American plum are clawed, tapering abruptly to a very narrow base.

Moist to dry. Forests, fields, and thickets, hillsides, bluffs, and stream banks. Full or partial sun. Sandy or sandy-loamy soil

Flowering

Late April to early June

Pests and Diseases