A tree that quietly makes its mark
My taste in plants tends toward the showy and colorful 鈥� those that demand the viewer鈥檚 attention. But sometimes I鈥檓 drawn to a quiet plant whose charms may not be so obvious at first glance.
One of my favorites is serviceberry 鈥� also known as Juneberry, shadbush, shadblow, Sarvis tree, downy serviceberry, Saskatoon serviceberry, and Utah serviceberry. Growing up in the Appalachians, I鈥檇 always thought of it as a tree, one that occurred naturally at the edge of woods.
So I was surprised a few years ago in talking with a gardening friend to discover that she considered it a shrub. I did a little research and discovered that among the various species and hybrids of the plant 鈥� some native, some from Asia 鈥� there were both .
The shrubs tend to spread by suckers and form large colonies. The trees are small 鈥� 15 feet to 30 feet 鈥� and graceful. In early spring, pretty white appear. They don鈥檛 last long, but are always a sign of renewal to me.
After the blooms come that mature to bluish-black, much-loved by native Americans, early settlers 鈥� and birds. I鈥檝e heard they鈥檙e quite sweet and tasty (somewhat like a blueberry) and good for jam, but I don鈥檛 know from personal experience -- the birds have always stripped my trees before the berries ripened.
To add to this modest tree鈥檚 virtues, several species and numerous hybrids of it have brilliant fall color. and are two I鈥檝e admired.
But beyond the tree鈥檚 admirable qualities, I鈥檝e always been drawn to it because of those unusual common names. 鈥淪hadbush鈥� and 鈥渟hadblow鈥� are because it blooms at the same time the shad (fish) are spawning.
The name 鈥渟erviceberry鈥� came about because Appalachian mountain people used the plant for spring weddings and funerals, according to British garden historian Alice M. Coats (writing in 鈥淕arden Shrubs and Their History鈥�).
I assume that 鈥渟arvis鈥� is a sort of variation of 鈥渟ervice,鈥� but don鈥檛 know for sure.
To me, that collection of common names just adds another level of interest to what鈥檚 already a delightful plant.