Shadbush

Shadbush, common name for any of a genus of shrubs and low trees (see Rose) native to North America. The genus contains about 25 species variously known as shad-blow, service, serviceberry, and Juneberry. Several species are cultivated in the northern and eastern United States for their edible fruits. Shadbushes have simple leaves that are often coated with soft, silvery fuzz. The white flowers, borne in racemes, appear in early spring; they have a five-cleft calyx, five petals, many stamens, and a single pistil. The berrylike, usually edible, purplish fruit ripens in June or July. The common shadbush of the eastern United States grows to a height of about 12 m (about 40 ft). Another widely distributed shadbush, the running shadblow, which grows to about 1 m (about 4 ft).

Scientific classification: Shadbushes make up the genus Amelanchier, of the family Rosaceae. The common shadbush of the eastern United States is classified as Amelanchier canadensis and the running shadblow as Amelanchier stolonifera.