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Introductory

SPECIES: Amelanchier arborea | Downy Serviceberry
ABBREVIATION : AMEARB SYNONYMS : Amelanchier canadensis L. SCS PLANT CODE : AMAR3 COMMON NAMES : downy serviceberry Juneberry shadbush shadblow sugarplum TAXONOMY : The currently accepted scientific name for downy serviceberry is Amelanchier arborea (Michx.) Fern.( Rosaceae) [4]. Downy serviceberry hybridizes with the following species [4]: A. humilis Wieg. A. canadensis (L.) Medic. A. laevis Wieg. A. bartramiana (Tausch) Roemer Hybridization is common and usually produces fertile offspring. Authors differ in their treatment of the hybrids [20]. LIFE FORM : Tree, Shrub FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : No special status OTHER STATUS : NO-ENTRY COMPILED BY AND DATE : S. A. Snyder, May 1992 LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : NO-ENTRY AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : Snyder, S. A. 1992. Amelanchier arborea. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE

SPECIES: Amelanchier arborea | Downy Serviceberry
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : Downy serviceberry occurs from the southern tip of Newfoundland south to the northern tip of the Florida Panhandle and west to southern Ontario and Quebec, eastern Kansas, the eastern edge of Nebraska, and southern Mississippi and Alabama. North of Virginia, it is found along the coast, but from Virginia south it occurs inland [14]. ECOSYSTEMS : FRES10 White - red - jack pine FRES11 Spruce - fir FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine FRES14 Oak - pine FRES15 Oak - hickory FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood FRES18 Maple - beech - birch FRES19 Aspen - birch STATES : AL AR CT DE FL GA IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO NE NH NJ NY NC OH OK PA RI SC TN VT VA WV WI NB NF NS ON PE PQ ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : ACAD ALPO BISO BLRI BUFF CAHA CATO CHCH CUGA CUVA DEWA FIIS FODO GATE GWMP GETT GRSM HOSP INDU ISRO JOFL MACA MANA MORR NATR NERI OBRI OZAR PIRO PRWI SHEN SHIL SLBE WICR BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : NO-ENTRY KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : K097 Southeastern spruce - fir forest K098 Northern floodplain forest K099 Maple - basswood forest K100 Oak - hickory K101 Elm - ash forest K102 Beech - maple forest K103 Mixed mesophytic forest K104 Appalachian oak forest K106 Northern hardwoods K109 Transition between K104 and K106 K110 Northeastern oak - pine forest K111 Oak - hickory - pine K112 Southern mixed forest SAF COVER TYPES : 1 Jack pine 16 Aspen 25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch 26 Sugar maple - basswood 27 Sugar maple 28 Black cherry - maple 30 Red spruce - yellow birch 31 Red spruce - sugar maple - beech 34 Red spruce - Fraser fir 39 Black ash - American elm - red maple 42 Bur oak 52 White oak - black oak - northern red oak 53 White oak 55 Northern red oak 57 Yellow-poplar 59 Yellow-poplar - white oak - northern red oak 60 Beech - sugar maple 61 River birch - sycamore 62 Silver maple - American elm 64 Sassafras - persimmon 65 pin oak - sweet gum 75 Shortleaf pine 76 Shortleaf pine - oak 97 Atlantic white-cedar 108 Red maple 109 Hawthorn 110 Black oak SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : NO-ENTRY HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : NO-ENTRY

VALUE AND USE

SPECIES: Amelanchier arborea | Downy Serviceberry
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : In areas where downy serviceberry grows big enough, it is used for pulpwood [21]. IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : At least 40 bird species and several dozen mammal species eat the fruit of the Amelanchier genus. Mammals that use downy serviceberry include squirrels, chipmunks, mice, voles, foxes, black bears, and elk [12,17]. PALATABILITY : NO-ENTRY NUTRITIONAL VALUE : NO-ENTRY COVER VALUE : NO-ENTRY VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : NO-ENTRY OTHER USES AND VALUES : NO-ENTRY MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Downy serviceberry is the preferred food of the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) during its larval stages [6]. Downy serviceberry has been known to increase in number and density after defoliation from gypsy moths [8]. Mistblown Roundup applied in late summer or early fall kills downy serviceberry [24].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

SPECIES: Amelanchier arborea | Downy Serviceberry
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : Downy serviceberry is a tall, deciduous shrub or small tree, growing up to 30 feet (9 m) or more [20]. Its trunk is about 16 inches (40 cm) in diameter [4]. The maximum recorded height and diameter for downy serviceberry is 70 feet (21 m) high and 2 feet (0.6 m) d.b.h. [14]. Its branches are purplish when young but turn grey at maturity. Leaves are alternate and simple with serrate margins. They are almost twice as long as broad. Flowers are white, and the berrylike pomme fruit is dark red to purple [20]. There are 4 to 10 seeds per fruit [1]. RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : Microphanerophyte Nanophanerophyte Hemicryptophyte REGENERATION PROCESSES : Downy serviceberry regenerates mainly by seed, but it also sprouts from the roots [14]. Seeds are dispersed by birds and mammals; bird ingestion of seeds is an important scarification process [17]. Seeds should be collected soon after ripening before animals eat them. Seeds can be washed from the fruits by mashing them with water. There is an average of 80,000 cleaned seeds per pound (176,000 kg). Seeds should be dry stored at 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 deg C) in sealed containers. Seeds can be sown in either fall or spring after 2 to 6 months of cold stratification, but they will not usually germinate until after the second spring [1]. SITE CHARACTERISTICS : Downy serviceberry grows on a variety of sites from swampy lowlands to dry woods and sandy bluffs. It also grows on rocky ridges, forest edges, and open woodlands and fields [20,23]. In the mixed hardwoods of Appalachia, downy serviceberry may compete better with other species in stands on low quality sites [21]. Downy serviceberry grows in red spruce (Picea rubens)-Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) forests of the mountainous Southeast. Here it grows in association with yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), mountain ash (Sorbus americana), elderberry (Sambucus pubens), and hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium) at elevations between 4,950 and 6,600 feet (1,500-2,000 m). Soils in these types are moderately drained Inceptisols with a thick organic horizon and a low pH [2]. In the Midwest downy serciceberry grows with boxelder (Acer negundo), sugar maple (A. saccharum), white oak (Quercus alba), black ash (Fraxinus nigra), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), and American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana). Soils here are well-drained silty clay loam and poorly drained silt loams [13]. Some understory associates include lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium), penstemon (Penstemon canescens), raspberry (Rubus spp.), greenbrier (Smilax spp.), and witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) [7,8]. SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : Downy serviceberry is a late successional to climax species in mixed-hardwood forests of the central United States [13]. SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : In the northern part of its range, downy serviceberry flowers at the same time its leaves emerge in April and May. Fruits are produced in June and July [20]. In southern parts of its range, downy serviceberry flowers in March and produces fruit from June through August [1,4].

FIRE ECOLOGY

SPECIES: Amelanchier arborea | Downy Serviceberry
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : Downy serviceberry can sprout from root crowns and stumps following fire [19]. Some reestablishment from seed dispersed from off-site may also occur. POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : survivor species; on-site surviving root crown off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1&2

FIRE EFFECTS

SPECIES: Amelanchier arborea | Downy Serviceberry
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : Fire top-kills downy serviceberry [19]. DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : August burning of slash piles in the forest of lower Michigan killed most of the downy serviceberry on the site [19]. Stumps and roots sprouted the following year, but much of downy serviceberry found on the site was established from seed dispersed by birds and mammals. Studies in Pennsylvania showed contradictary results in the closely related species, Amelanchier canadensis [9]. A. canadensis was not present on burned sites until more than 15 years following fire but was prolific on unburned sites. PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : Downy serviceberry will recolonize sites following fire [18,19]. DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : Following wildfire in a spruce-fir forest of Appalachia, downy serviceberry was present in stands after 30 years, but was less than 1 percent of the total basal area. Specific effects of the fire on downy serviceberry were not studied [18]. For fire information on related species, see FEIS DATABASE: AMELANCHIER ALNIFOLIA. FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : NO-ENTRY

REFERENCES

SPECIES: Amelanchier arborea | Downy Serviceberry
REFERENCES : 1. Brinkman, K. A. 1974. Amelanchier Med. serviceberry. In: Schopmeyer, C. S., technical coordinator. Seeds of woody plants in the United States. Agric. Handb. 450. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 212-215. [7516] 2. Busing, Richard T.; Clebsch, Edward E. C.; Eagar, Christopher C.; Pauley, Eric F. 1988. Two decades of change in a Great Smoky Mountains spruce-fir forest. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 115(1): 25-31. [4491] 3. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905] 4. Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. [Corrections supplied by R. C. Rollins]. Portland, OR: Dioscorides Press. 1632 p. (Dudley, Theodore R., gen. ed.; Biosystematics, Floristic & Phylogeny Series; vol. 2). [14935] 5. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998] 6. Gottschalk, Kurt W. 1988. Gypsy moth and regenerating Appalachian hardwood stands. In: Smith, H. Clay; Perkey, Arlyn W.; Kidd, William E., Jr., eds. Guidelines for regenerating Appalachian hardwood stands: Workshop proceedings; 1988 May 24-26; Morgantown, WV. SAF Publ. 88-03. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Books: 241-254. [13950] 7. Hall, Christine N.; Kuss, Fred R. 1989. Vegetation alteration along trails in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Biological Conservation. 48: 211-227. [9306] 8. Hix, David M.; Fosbroke, David E.; Hicks, Ray R., Jr.; Gottschalk, Kurt W. 1991. Development of regeneration following gypsy moth defoliation of Appalachian Plateau and Ridge & Valley hardwood stands. In: McCormick, Larry H.; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. Proceedings, 8th central hardwood forest conference; 1991 March 4-6; University Park, PA. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-148. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station: 347-359. [15323] 9. Jordan, Marilyn J. 1975. Effects of zinc smelter emissions and fire on a chestnut-oak woodland. Ecology. 56: 78-91. [3461] 10. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384] 11. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No. 14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496] 12. Masters, Ronald E. 1991. Effects of fire and timber harvest on vegetation and cervid use on oak-pine sites in Oklahoma Ouachita Mountains. In: Nodvin, Stephen C.; Waldrop, Thomas A., eds. Fire and the environment: ecological and cultural perspectives: Proceedings of an international symposium; 1990 March 20-24; Knoxville, TN. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-69. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station: 168-176. [16648] 13. Parker, G. R.; Leopold, D. J.; Eichenberger, J. K. 1985. Tree dynamics in an old-growth, deciduous forest. Forest Ecology and Management. 11(1&2): 31-57. [13314] 14. Preston, Richard J., Jr. 1948. North American trees. Ames, IA: The Iowa State College Press. 371 p. [1913] 15. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843] 16. Robinson, W. Ann. 1982. Experimental taxonomy in the genus Amelanchier. II: Do the taxa in the genus Amelanchier form an agamic complex?. Rhodora. 84: 85-99. [17998] 17. Robinson, W. Ann. 1986. Effect of fruit ingestion on Amelanchier seed germination. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 113(2): 131-134. [4552] 18. Saunders, Paul R.; Smathers, Garrett A.; Ramseur, George S. 1983. Secondary succession of a spruce-fir burn in the Plott Balsam Mountains, North Carolina. Castanea. 48(1): 41-47. [8658] 19. Scheiner, Samuel M.; Sharik, Terry L.; Roberts, Mark R.; Vande Kopple, Robert. 1988. Tree density and modes of tree recruitment in a Michigan pine-hardwood forest after clear-cutting and burning. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 102(4): 634-638. [8718] 20. Soper, James H.; Heimburger, Margaret L. 1982. Shrubs of Ontario. Life Sciences Misc. Publ. Toronto, ON: Royal Ontario Museum. 495 p. [12907] 21. Trimble, G. R., Jr. 1972. Reproduction 7 years after seed-tree harvest cutting in Appalachian hardwoods. Res. Pap. NE-223. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 19 p. [10924] 22. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573] 23. Voss, Edward G. 1985. Michigan flora. Part II. Dicots (Saururaceae--Cornaceae). Bull. 59. Bloomfield Hills, MI: Cranbrook Institute of Science; Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Herbarium. 724 p. [11472] 24. Wendel, G. W.; Kochenderfer, J. N. 1982. Glyphosate controls hardwoods in West Virginia. Res. Pap. NE-497. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 7 p. [9869]

Index

Related categories for Species: Amelanchier arborea | Downy Serviceberry

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