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Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Amelanchier humilis — low serviceberry, low shadbush

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Facts

Low shadbush is a particularly hairy member of the serviceberry genus, with young leaves densely covered on their undersides by woolly hairs. Even the axis of the compact inflorescence is densely hairy. Its small, white flowers attract bees in the Spring, and its red berries are eaten by birds.

Habitat

Shores of rivers or lakes, woodlands

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
Vermont
Growth form
the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
Leaf type
the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
Leaves per node
there is one leaf per node along the stem
Leaf blade edges
  • the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
  • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
Leaf duration
the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
armature on plant
the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Leaf blade length
20–50 mm
Leaf blade width
20–40 mm
Leaf stalk
the leaves have leaf stalks
Fruit type (general)
the fruit is fleshy
Bark texture
the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
Twig winter color
gray
Bud scale number
there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
Show all characteristics

  • Buds or leaf scars

    Bud scale number
    there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
    Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
    NA
    Collateral buds
    there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
    Superposed buds
    there are no superposed buds on the branch
    Winter bud scales
    the winter bud is perulate (partially or completely covered with one or more scales)

  • Flowers

    Carpels fused
    the carpels are fused to one another
    Enlarged sterile flowers
    there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
    Flower petal color
    white
    Flower symmetry
    there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
    Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
    the top of the ovary has hairs on it
    Hypanthium present
    the flower has a hypanthium
    Inflorescence type
    the inflorescence is a raceme (a long unbranched stem with stalked flowers growing along it)
    Number of pistils
    1
    Ovary position
    • the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
    • the ovary is below the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
    Petal and sepal arrangement
    the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
    Petal appearance
    the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
    Petal fusion
    the perianth parts are separate
    Sepal cilia (Ilex)
    NA
    Sepals fused only to sepals
    the sepals are separate from one another
    Stamen number
    • 10
    • 11
    • 12
    • 13 or more
    Stamen position relative to petals
    NA
    Stamens fused
    the stamens are not fused to one another

  • Fruits or seeds

    Berry color
    • black
    • purple
    • red
    Fruit tissue origin
    the hypanthium of the flower becomes part of the fruit
    Fruit type (general)
    the fruit is fleshy
    Fruit type (specific)
    the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
    Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
    NA
    Wings on fruit
    there are no wings on the fruit

  • Glands or sap

    Sap color
    the sap is clear and watery
    Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
    NA

  • Growth form

    Growth form
    the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)

  • Leaves

    Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
    the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
    Leaf blade base shape
    The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes)
    Leaf blade edges
    • the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
    • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
    Leaf blade edges (Acer)
    NA
    Leaf blade flatness
    the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
    Leaf blade hairs
    the leaf blade has tangled or woolly-looking hairs, without glands
    Leaf blade length
    20–50 mm
    Leaf blade scales
    there are no scales on the leaf blades
    Leaf blade shape
    • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
    • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
    Leaf blade texture
    the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
    Leaf blade translucent dots
    there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
    Leaf blade width
    20–40 mm
    Leaf duration
    the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
    Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
    NA
    Leaf midrib glands
    the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
    Leaf stalk
    the leaves have leaf stalks
    Leaf stalk nectaries
    there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
    Leaf teeth
    the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
    Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
    NA
    Leaf type
    the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
    Leaves per node
    there is one leaf per node along the stem
    Specific leaf type
    the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
    Stipules
    the plant has stipules

  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    Vermont
    Specific habitat
    • shores of rivers or lakes
    • woodlands

  • Scent

    Plant odor
    the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Aerial roots
    the plant has no aerial roots
    Bark texture
    the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
    Branch brittleness (willows only)
    NA
    Branch cross-section
    the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
    First-year cane (Rubus)
    NA
    Pith shape
    the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
    Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
    NA
    Twig winter color
    gray
    Wings on branch
    the branch does not have wings on it
    armature on plant
    the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns

Wetland status

Not classified

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
absent
Maine
absent
Massachusetts
absent
New Hampshire
absent
Rhode Island
absent
Vermont
present

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Maine
S4 (code: S4)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

5.  Amelanchier humilis Wieg. N

low shadbush. Amelanchier humilis Wieg. var. compacta Nielsen; A. humilis Wieg. var. exserrata Nielson • VT; mainly in the Lake Champlain Valley but also found in the lower Connecticut River valley. Limestone headlands, woodlands, and rocky lake shores in high-pH bedrock regions. Amelanchier humilis can be difficult to separate from A. spicata, especially those forms of the latter with coarsely toothed leaf blades. The details of the veins (e.g., curvature, degree of branching) on the leaf blades are critical features.

5×7. Amelanchier humilis × Amelanchier laevis → This very rare shadbush hybrid is known from VT. It has most leaves with oblong to narrow-obovate blades that are green and have some patches of tomentum on the abaxial surface during anthesis (rather than nearly glabrous and strongly tinged with red-purple in Amelanchier laevis). The lowest pedicels are 16–25 mm long (vs. 3–20 mm long in A. humilis and 15–28(–41) mm long in A. laevis). The racemes are mostly 23–45 mm long (11–44 mm long in A. humilis and (25–)43–65(–85) mm long in A. laevis). The petals are mostly shorter than 12 mm long (too short for A. laevis) and the ovary summit is pubescent (glabrous in A. laevis). Additionally, from A. humilis, it differs in its smaller leaf teeth, sparsely pubescent inflorescence, and more open inflorescences.

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes confused with

Amelanchier gaspensis:
expanding leaves at flowering glabrous to sparsely pubescent on the abaxial surface, lowest pedicel 10-20 mm long in flower, and rachis of raceme glabrous or sparsely pubescent (vs. A. humilis, with expanding leaves at flowering densely pubescent on the abaxial surface, lowest pedicel mostly 9-13 mm long in flower, and rachis of raceme pubescent during flowering).
Amelanchier spicata:
primary lateral veins on leaf blades anastomosing before reaching the margin, not entering the teeth, and fruit 7-12 mm in diameter (vs. A. humilis, with primary lateral veins on leaf blades straight or branching once or twice, extending into the teeth, and fruit 5-8 mm long).

Synonyms

  • Amelanchier humilis Wieg. var. compacta Nielsen
  • Amelanchier humilis Wieg. var. exserrata Nielson

Family

Rosaceae

Genus

Amelanchier