Downy serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea alabamensis)
Description
Amelanchier arborea downy serviceberry or common serviceberry, is native to eastern North America from the Gulf Coast north to Thunder Bay in Ontario and Lake St. John in Quebec, and west to Texas and Minnesota.Amelanchier arborea is generally 5�12 m (16�39 ft) tall. Occasionally, it can grow up to 20 metres (66 ft) tall and reach into the overstory. The trunk can be up to 15 cm (6 in) in diameter (rarely to 40 cm or 16 in). The bark is smooth and gray.The buds are slender with a pointed tip, and usually more than two scales visible. The leaves are ovate or elliptical, 4�8 cm (1 1?2�3 1?4 in), rarely 10 cm (4 in), long and 2.5�4 cm (1�1 5?8 in) wide, with pointed tips and finely serrated margins. A characteristic useful for identification is that the young leaves emerge downy on the underside. The fall color is variable, from orange-yellow to pinkish or reddish.It has perfect flowers that are 15�25 mm (5?8�1 in) in diameter, with 5 petals, emerging during budbreak in early spring. The petals are white. Flowers are produced on pendulous racemes 3�5 cm (1 1?4�2 in) long with 4-10 flowers on each raceme. The flowers are pollinated by bees. The fruit is a reddish-purple pome, resembling a small apple in shape. They ripen in summer and are very popular with birds.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Rosales
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Family: Rosaceae
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Genus: Amelanchier
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