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].

Related categories for Species: Amelanchier arborea | Downy Serviceberry