''Amelanchier ovalis'', commonly known as snowy mespilus (a name which is also attached to the related '' A. lamarckii'') or serviceberry, is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Rosaceae. Its

pome In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Pome fruits consist of a central "core" containing multiple small seeds, which is enveloped by a tough membrane and surrounded by a ...

fruits are edible and can be eaten raw or cooked. The species is native to central and southern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, as well as

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Description

There are 25 species of the genus ''

Amelanchier ''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a ...

'' reported from the northern hemisphere, and ''A. ovalis'' is the only naturally occurring species of that genus within Europe. A wide morphological variability has been reported for the flowers and leaves. There are two subspecies which can be distinguished by the number of chromosomes: * the diploid (2n=34) ''A. ovalis'' subsp. ''ovalis'' * the tetraploid (2n = 68) ''A. ovalis'' subsp. ''embergeri'' ''Amelanchier ovalis'' is a thornless, summer-green shrub with an irregular spreading growth. It reaches heights of , rarely . The branches are slim and tightly erect in younger growing stages, becoming extended afterwards. Young shoots are thin and white-haired, older shoots are olive or reddish-brown. The buds have felted hairs which is typical for this species. The leaves are round or egg-shaped and reach a length of 2 to 5 cm. The top side of the leaves is bald, the underside initially is hairy, but this is lost throughout the growing season. The white flowers, which are herbaceous, develop lateral and terminal from previous years branches between April and May. The flowers build 3 to 8 erect inflorescences at the end of the shoots. The fruits are small (1 cm) and spherical, ripening between July and August. When ripe, the fruits become black and contain only a small amount of flesh. Amelanchier ovalis3

Distribution and habitat

''Amelanchier ovalis'' can be found in prealpine and submediterranean climates reaching from colline to sub-alpine zones. The most southern place with recorded plants is in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, the most eastern place is in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. Plants have been observed in the

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

at an elevation of , and in the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. They separate the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range, which stretches around through M ...

at . ''A. ovalis'' prefers sunny, dry steep slopes, light oak and pine forests and semi-dry grasslands. It grows well in south-facing positions, on rocks with calcareous substrates.

Ecology

''Amelanchier ovalis'' grows in areas which are characterized by moderately dry alternating with moist conditions. It is drought resistant, and is for this reason an

indicator species A bioindicator is any species (an indicator species) or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment. The most common indicator species are animals. For example, copepods and other sma ...

for dry conditions.

Soil pH Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the neg ...

ranges from neutral to alkaline (pH 5.5 - 8.5). Therefore, plants are found on limy grounds. Due to its

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

features, ''Amelanchier ovalis'' is able to establish on nutrient poor and stony substrates, and can stabilize soils. For this reason, this species is used for land restoration, afforestation or reconstruction of habitats. ''Amelanchier ovalis'' is an important food source for different insect species providing nectar. The plants are dependent on insect

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...

, because self-pollination is inhibited by early ripening of stamens. In a higher phenological stage of the plant, when plants have built ripe fruits, they are often eaten by birds or mammals. Through that, seeds of ''A. ovalis'' are dispersed by these animals. Depending on the location ''A.ovalis'' can propagate vegetatively via root shoots.

Pathology

Gall mites of the genus '' Eriophyes'' and ''

Aceria ''Aceria'' is a genus of mites belonging to the family Eriophyidae, the gall mites. These tiny animals are parasites of plants. Several species can cause blistering and galls, including erineum galls. A few are economically significant pests, wh ...

'' cause damage to buds and calyxes by gall formation on leaves. ''A. ovalis'' can also suffer from

browsing Browsing is a kind of orienting strategy. It is supposed to identify something of relevance for the browsing organism. In context of humans, it is a metaphor taken from the animal kingdom. It is used, for example, about people browsing open sh ...

by game and grazing livestock. By contrast, the spotted wing drosophila (''

Drosophila suzukii ''Drosophila suzukii'', commonly called the spotted wing drosophila or SWD, is a fruit fly. ''D. suzukii'', originally from southeast Asia, is becoming a major pest species in America and Europe, because it infests fruit early during the ripening ...

'') does not infest the fruit of the snowy mespilus. ''A. ovalis'' can be infested by various species of

rust fungi Rusts are fungal plant pathogens of the order Pucciniales (previously known as Uredinales) causing plant fungal diseases. An estimated 168 rust genera and approximately 7,000 species, more than half of which belong to the genus ''Puccinia'', are ...

(e.g. ''Gymnosporangium amelanchieris''), and consequently serves as a host plant. Leaves, shoots, flowers and fruits can be affected. In most cases, the damage is insignificant, and the rust fungus does not threaten the survival of the shrub. However, depending on the type of infestation, fruit set may be reduced. ''A. ovalis'' is also a host plant of the

fire blight Fire blight, also written fireblight, is a contagious disease affecting apples, pears, and some other members of the family Rosaceae. It is a serious concern to apple and pear producers. Under optimal conditions, it can destroy an entire orchard ...

pathogen ''Erwinia amylovora'' and is highly susceptible to it. In extreme cases, infection with fire blight can even lead to the death of the shrub. In very dry years, a weak

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungus, fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of Ascomycota, ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant disea ...

infestation could be observed.

Uses

''Amelanchier ovalis'' can be used for land restoration and afforestation, thanks to its pioneer features.Abstract in English.
!-- previous url, now dead https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20000609869 --> The berries can be eaten fresh, although they taste rather bland. More often they are processed for jam, compote or spirits. Extracts from twigs, leaves and bark can be used for medicinal purposes, due to their richness in biologically active substances, such as

polyphenols Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring phenols. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of which have been used historically as ...

References

External links

Information from Plants for a Future
{{Taxonbar, from=Q159560 ovalis Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Plants described in 1793