PlantFiles: Downy Serviceberry, Shadblow, Juneberry, Sarvis Tree
Amelanchier arborea

Sarvis trees grow plentifully on my brother-in-law's farm in Crossville, TN under dense forest. The berries are sugar sweet, but the birds get most of them, since most of them are up out of reach. I am wanting to try them in East Texas, but I do not know their chill requirements.

W.A. McCormick
Lindale, TX

Downy Serviceberry, Shadblow, Juneberry, Sarvis Tree, Amelanchier arborea is native to Texas and other States.

The plant that I have is a small shrub growing only 2 feet tall at the most. The berries are very sweet and my wife and I fight to see who gets to pick them. I propigated them by digging up suckers and transplanting them.

Downy serviceberry is a deciduous, early-flowering, large shrub or small tree which typically grows 15-25' tall in cultivation but can reach 40' in the wild. A Missouri native plant that occurs most often in open rocky woods, wooded slopes, and bluffs. Features 5-petaled, showy, slightly fragrant, white flowers in drooping clusters which appear before the leaves emerge in early spring. The finely-toothed, obovate leaves exhibit good fall color. Flowers give way to small, round green berries which turn red and finally mature to a dark purplish-black in early summer. Edible berries resemble blueberries in size and color and are often used in jams, jellies and pies. Amelanchiers are commonly called juneberries.