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Plants Juneberry  Our earliest tree to bloom is the Juneberry with soft white blooms in short racemes of three to several 5-petaled flowers that open as the bronze-colored leaves expand. The leaves are fine-toothed with somewhat elongated tips and are hairy beneath. The tree grows to 40’ tall and forms multiple trunks with smooth gray bark. A native small tree of eastern United States and Canada, Juneberry gets its name from the fact that it ripens its fruits by the end of June. In the mid-Atlantic region it is called Shadbush or Shadblow because its early bloom coincides with the spawning of shad (a type of fish). An earlier name is Sarvisberry (origin unknown) which with its newer version Serviceberry and the regional name Saskatoon are typically used in Canada. Juneberry grows throughout rich woods and thickets, along hedgerows and streams where it receives enough light in the understory to flower and fruit. Juneberry is in the rose family which includes many familiar cultivated species that we enjoy to eat and to grow as ornamentals: apples, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, plums, pears, cherries, apricots, nectarines, almond, roses and rose-hips. The five native species (and an undetermined number of hybrids) of Amelanchier that grow in Vermont similarly provide food for wildlife and provide that fruit earlier than any other native fruit. Songbirds, especially Cedar Waxwings and Robins, hang from the tips of branches and enjoy the dark purple fruit. Local people call Juneberry “Cherry” and refer to the Cedar Waxwing as “Cherrybird”. Wild Turkey and Ruffed Grouse eat from shorter shrub-like species. Mammals that eat the fruits include: skunk, red fox, raccoon, black bear, red squirrel, and chipmunk. Other animals browse the twigs: cottontail rabbit, beaver, whitetail deer and moose. Still, Juneberry produces enough fruit to delight our senses with flowers in early May and fruits that mature from red to purple in late June. - Deborah Benjamin This page was last updated on February 16, 2006 |
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Hazen's Notch Association l P.O. Box 478 l Montgomery Center VT 05471 l info@hazensnotch.org l 802.326.4799 |