SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amelanchier arborea alabamensis

COMMON NAME: downy serviceberry

FLOWERS: White, pendulous racemes in late March before the leaves for about a week.

LEAVES: Alternate and slightly cordate at the base. Finely serrate and pubescent on the petiole and underneath. Up to 3" long and 2" wide.

GROWTH HABIT: Grows 20' to 30' tall, usually as a single trunked small tree.

OTHER: Native to Alabama and other southern states. Likes full sun or partial shade. Best used near ponds and stream. A member of the Rosaceae family. Has small red apple like fruit (pome) in the summer. May have grey blotches on the trunk. In Virginia and North Carolina it is thought that this tree blooms when the shad are running in the streams.