| Common Name |
Utah Service Berry |
| Latin Name |
Amelanchier utahensis |
| Family |
Rosaceae |
| Sunset zones / USDA zones |
/ 6-9 |
| Type / Form |
Shrub / Large |
| Native Habitat |
Western North America 0 to 11,000 feet |
| Soil |
Dry, decomposed granite, sand, clay loam low in organic
content, well drained |
| Water |
Once or twice per month |
| Exposure |
Full sun |
| Height X Width |
To 15 feet x 15 feet |
| Protective Mechanism |
None |
| Leaves |
Alternate, simple, ovate, obovate, or
nearly round, 1 inch long, relatively thick, serrate, shiny dark green
and somewhat pubescent above, pale pubescent below. |
| Flowers |
Showy white or pink flowers with 5
petals that are 1/2 inch long, borne on short racemes, appear in early
to mid-spring. Fruit
ripening in late summer and early fall, 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter,
rounded, red ripening to dark purple or black, in tight clusters,
edible. |
| Bark / Roots |
Smooth when young, ashy-gray with brown stripes;
later becoming rough with long splits and furrows.
Twigs slender,
flexible, red-brown in color, hairy when young, later hairless; buds
about 1/2 inch long with red, imbricate scales that are hairy along the
margin. |
| Maintenance |
Low |
| Propagation |
Seed - it is best harvested 'green', when the seed is fully formed but
before the seed coat has hardened, and then sown immediately in pots
outdoors or in a cold frame. If stored seed is obtained early enough in
the autumn, it can be given 4 weeks warm stratification before being
left out in the winter and it should then germinate in the spring.
Otherwise seed can be very slow to germinate, perhaps taking 18 months
or more. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into
individual pots and grow them on in a sheltered outdoor position,
planting them out once they are 20cm or more tall. If there is
sufficient seed it is best to sow it thinly in an outdoor seedbed. Grow
the seedlings on for two years in the seedbed before planting them out
into their permanent positions during the winter. Layering in spring -
takes 18 months. Division of suckers in late winter. The suckers need to
have been growing for 2 years before you dig them up, otherwise they
will not have formed roots. They can be planted out straight into their
permanent positions if required. |
| Pests and diseases |
|
| Landscape uses |
Erosion control, barrier, low maintenance, foliage
accent |
| Garden Suitability |
Moonlight, Mountain, Butterfly, Songbird, Ethnobotanical |
| Ornamental Value |
White flowers in spring, fruit in early summer, white
bark, heat marginal |
| Nature Value |
Important browse, birds eat berries, attracts
butterflies |
| Native American Uses |
Berries eaten raw or cooked, berries dried for later
use, limbs used in basketry and in making bows |
| Links |
|
| Images and data |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelanchier_utahensis |
| Images and
data |
http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/White%20Enlarged%20Photo%20Pages/amelanchier.htm |
| Images and
data |
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus2/factsheet.cfm?ID=478 |
| Images and
data |
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/58406/ |
| Images and
data |
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Amelanchier+utahensis |
| Images and
data |
http://www.nazflora.org/Amelanchier_utahensis.htm |
| Images and
data |
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AMUT |
| Images and
data |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelanchier_utahensis |
| Images and
data |
http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/White%20Enlarged%20Photo%20Pages/amelanchier.htm |
| Images
and data |
http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=304 |
| Images and
data |
http://extension.usu.edu/range/woody/utahserviceberry.htm |
| Images |
http://www.coestatepark.com/amelanchier_utahensis.htm |
| Data |
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/ameuta/all.html |
| Data |
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Amelanchier+utahensis+var.+utahensis |
| Distribution |
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=AMUT |
| Images, nursery, and data |
http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/amelanchier-utahensis |
| Images,
nursery, and
data |
http://www.cnplx.info/nplx/species?taxon=Amelanchier+utahensis+var.+utahensis |