Serviceberry

serviceberry, (genus Amelanchier), also known as shadbush or juneberry, genus of some 20 species of flowering shrubs and small trees of the rose family (Rosaceae). Most species are North American; exceptions include the snowy mespilus (Amelanchier ovalis), which ranges over Europe, and the Asian serviceberry, or Korean juneberry (A. asiatica), which is a small tree native to East Asia. The name shadbush refers to the tendency of certain species to produce their profuse small blossoms when American shad (Alosa sapidissima) swim upriver to spawn in early spring. Several species of serviceberries have entered cultivation as ornamental plants, and some species bear fruit that is used in making jellies.