242 TREES OF MINNESOTA. 



Genus AMELANCHIER. 



A small genus of trees and shrubs with alternate simple 

 leaves, racemose white flowers and edible fruit. 



Amelanchier canadensis. Juneberry. Service-tree. 



Leaves ovate or oval, pointed, finely serrate, reddish 

 brown with scattered white hairs when young becoming dark 

 green above and paler beneath at maturity; stipules early de- 

 ciduous. Flowers appear after the leaves in spreading or 

 drooping racemes; petals thin, pure white, about one-half 

 inch long; calyx much shorter than petals. Fruit i to i inch 

 in diameter; ripens in early summer, dark purple when fully 

 ripe, sweet and edible. A tree sometimes reaching a height 

 of 50 feet but seldom over 25 feet and often a mere shrub. 



Distribution. From Newfoundland westward along the 

 northern shores of the Great Lakes to eastern Nebraska and 

 south to Florida and Louisiana. 



Propagation. The species by seeds and the varieties by 

 suckers, layers and cuttings. 



Properties of wood. Heavy, very hard, close-grained, sus- 

 ceptible of a good polish; dark brown in color with thick 

 lighter-colored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.7838; weight of a 

 cubic foot 48.85 poundss. 



Uses. The profusion of white flowers produced by the 

 Juneberry in early spring makes it a pretty ornamental tree 

 or shrub at that time of the year. It may be planted to supply 

 food for the birds or to produce fruit for home use. The wood 

 is occasionally used for handles of tools or other small im- 

 plements. 



Varieties. Amelanchier canadensis varies considerably in 

 the form of the leaves, size of flowers and fruit and in habit 

 of growth. The following is the most distinct of these varieties. 



Amelanchier canadensis obovalis. Dwarf Juneberry. 



Suscutan-berry. 



Leaves oblong or broadly elliptical, acute or rounded at 

 the apex, remotely serrate or nearly entire below the middle, 

 coated at first on the lower surface with thick white tomentum. 

 Flowers smaller than those of the species. A small bush or tree 

 common in Quebec, Ontario and the northeastern states, and 



