Serviceberry- Amelanchier arborea

Rosaceae - Rose Family
"A Year With the Trees" - Tree Number 78
Serviceberry
Amelancier arborea

Spring

This is one of the first trees to bloom in the spring, beautiful white flowers.

There is a story about why this tree is called the Serviceberry tree. The story goes that when the serviceberry tree blooms in the spring, the ground has thawed enough to bury anyone that passed away during the frozen winter months. The blooming of the serviceberry tree was a sign that the circuit riding preacher would be around to do the burial service under a serviceberry tree.

I had an ancestor who was a circuit riding preacher; this story always make me think of him.

Summer

The Serviceberry tree.

 This tree has smooth green leaves that are have fine teeth along the edges.  The leaves are arranged alternately on the twigs and are 2-4 inches long and 1-2 inches wide.  We were fortunate to eat some of the berries about 3 weeks ago; they were delicous.  The berries may still be on the trees at the higher elevations in the Smokies and the Pisgah forest.  The berries are red to purple colored ; they resemble a very small apple with a small seed inside. The fruit can be used in pies and jams.

George Washington planted Serviceberries at Mt. Vernon.  If these trees are still there, they must be so beautiful in the early spring when the flowers are blooming and in the summer when the bright berries are on the trees.  I can imagine the beauty continues into the fall when the leaves turn to red,
and again when the snow is laying on their limbs.

Serviceberry Tree leaf in late summer.

By late summer some of the leaves are still holding on. On this tree, most of the leaves have fallen off already.

This tree gets their flowers on the branches really early in the spring and the leaves fall off before most other trees.  With this early life habit going on with tree, this tree reminds me that getting up early in the morning is really an amazing thing to do.  I am getting up really early lately,  I am getting up before the sun and am really really enjoying the bird song each morning and watching the sky lighten before the sun shows in the sky.

I hope everyone can get to know a Serviceberry tree.  May you each find one in your life.

Fall 

The Serviceberry Tree in September

Winter

I will be out this coming winter to get this photo.  Please check back.

The Champion Serviceberry Trees 

The 2018 North Carolina champion Serviceberry tree lives in Haywood County.  It is 38 feet tall and has a circumference of 113 inches.  http://ncforestservice.gov/urban/big_species_results.asp

The 2018 American Forest champion Serviceberry lives in Connecticut and is 34 feet tall and has a circumference of 134 inches. http://www.americanforests.org/big-trees/downy-serviceberry-amelanchier-arborea-2/

My favorite Serviceberry Tree

My favorite Serviceberry tree lives at a friend's house.  I am seeking a favorite Serviceberry tree in a public park.

Plant a Serviceberry Tree

Song birds and squirrels eat the summer berries of the Serviceberry tree; so do people, like me.  White tailed deer browse on the young leaves and twigs.

For the love of the trees,

Becky