Western or Pacific Serviceberry, Saskatoon Berry, Alder Leaved Serviceberry   am-e-LANG-ke-er al-ni-FO-le-ah

• Deciduous shrub/tree, to 40 ft (12 m), spreading to erect.  Leaves alternate, simple, tough, oval to rounded or nearly 4 sided, from 1/4 to 3/4 of the margin serrate, tomentose beneath when young, soon becoming glabrous, 2-5 cm long, 8-13 paired veins, 2-20 teeth on each side of the blade.  Flowers small, white, fragrant, 5-15 in erect racemes.  Fruit 1-1.5 cm, rounded, purple-black, edible, sweet.
• Sun or part shade and ordinary garden soil.  Can be used for erosion control.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 2      Native range from southern Alaska to California, east to the Dakotas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Arizona, mostly along river banks and moist thickets and forests.
• Fruit considered an emerging horticultural crop across the upper mid-west and Canadian prairies.
• Several botanical varieties (with variation in their description and classification) and cultivars, including:
  • ‘Altaglow’  -  columnar to narrow conical, multi-stemmed shrub, my reach over 20 ft (6 m) tall, fruit is sweet and white (turns brown after picking), but not plentiful; very hardy.  It was introduced as an ornamental in 1958 in part because of its bright autumn foliage varying from yellow to orange to red to purple.
  • ‘Northline’  -  medium shrub, 6-10 ft (2-3 m) tall, upright oval, becoming spreading, suckers freely, outer branches arching, very hardy.  Introduced in 1960 by Beaverlodge Nursery in Alberta.
  • ‘Regent’  -  compact shrub, vigorous, good foliage, sweet fruit.
  • ‘Smoky’  -  grows to about 15 ft (5 m), branches ascending to arching, suckers freely.  One of the first cultivars released, in 1952 by Beaverlodge, Alberta. large fruit.
  • ‘Thiessen’  -  oval to round shape, to about 15 ft (5 m) tall.  Flowers earlier than other cultivars and has the largest fruit.  Selected in Saskatchewan an introduced in 1976.
• See Dirr (1998) for descriptions of Amelanchier cultivars, many of which are derived from A. x grandiflora and A. laevis.
• Oregon State Univ. campus: northeast Azalea House on Madison Ave.