Amelanchier alnifolia var. semiintegrifolia (Nutt.) Nutt. ex M. Roem. (Hook.) C.L. Hitchc.
saskatoon (Saskatoon serviceberry)
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
saskatoon (Saskatoon serviceberry)
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Map
Distribution of Amelanchier alnifolia var. semiintegrifolia
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Species Information
General:
Shrub or rarely a small tree, 1-6 (10) m tall; stems slender, smooth; twigs smooth, reddish-brown; bark greyish to red-brown; sometimes spreading by rhizomes or stolons and forming dense colonies.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, oval to oblong-elliptic or nearly round, saw-toothed mostly on top half but sometimes nearly entire, broadly rounded to somewhat squared-off at the tip, smooth to variously hairy at least below; blades 2-5 cm long, stalks 0.5-2 cm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescences short, drooping to erect, leafy or bracted, terminal racemes at the ends of branches; flowers 3 to 20, on slender ascending stalks; corollas white, the petals 5, linear to lanceolate, 6-25 mm long; calyces 5-lobed, the lobes lance-triangular, 1-5 mm long, the hypanthium 1-2 mm long; ovaries inferior, smooth or hairy on top; stamens about 20.
Fruits:
Berry-like pomes (like miniature apples), crowned with the persistent calyx, globe- to egg-shaped, 5-14 mm long, dull red initially, becoming purple to nearly black, with a white bloom.
Notes:
Four intergrading varieties occur in BC:
1. Petals less than 12 mm long; tops of ovaries strongly hairy.
2. Flowers generally with 4 styles; leaves entire or with a few tiny teeth near tips................. var. humptulipensis (G.N. Jones) C.L. Hitchc.
2. Flowers generally with 5 styles; leaves usually strongly toothed on upper half..................... var. alnifolia
1. Petals over 12 mm long; tops of ovaries hairy or smooth.
3. Petals generally less than 16 mm long and 4 mm wide; calyx lobes averaging less than 3 mm long; top of ovary woolly....................var. semiintegrifolia (Hook.) C.L. Hitchc.
3. Petals generally greater than 16 mm long and up to 8.5 mm wide; calyx lobes averaging more than 3 mm long; top of ovary smooth to moderately hairy...................... var. cusickii (Fern.) C.L. Hitchc.
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Purple
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Habitat and Range
Dry to mesic, open rocky slopes, bluffs, gullies, thickets, forest margins and open forests in the lowland to subalpine zones; common throughout BC, especially in C and S BC, east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; N to AK, E to AB and S to CA, NE, ND, CO and AZ.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Amelanchier alnifolia subsp. florida (Lindl.) Hultén
Amelanchier florida Lindl.
Taxonomic Keys
"Amelanchier cusickii flowers 10 to 15 days before A. alnifolia, which suggests that these two are genetically distinct. G. N. Jones (1946) noted that A. alnifolia and {i{A. cusickii frequently grow together but that there is “no evidence of hybridization.” It should be noted that Jones discounted hybridization in the genus, even denying hybrid status to A. x neglecta." - Campbell & Doucette
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