Juneberry

I'd tell you where I spied these nearly ripe Juneberries, but then I might have to kill you. 😜

Maybe There Should Be an Amelanchier Celebration?

Blooming spectacularly right now along with the much-celebrated cherry trees is a North American native beauty, the Amelanchier. Its blooms are at least as lovely a sight as the decorative cherry trees, but unlike those trees it will also produce some delicious berries. Native, decorative bark, plus delicious fruit for people in the know and birds: what's not to love about the Amelanchier?

Amelanchier and the City Street

It wasn't so long ago that I saw the pretty striped silvery grey bark below while walking down the street in Brooklyn, looked up, saw some buds that were about to open and wondered if I was looking at an Amelanchier planted as a New York City street tree. The flowers pictured above are the confirmation. The city decidedly does plant the serviceberry as a street tree. It is on their list of recommended small street trees listed here. That's kind of cool for a lot of reasons, only one of them being that I'm a sucker for some pretty bark. I haven't passed by any others in recent trips around town, but maybe I'm not looking hard enough.

The High Line Mid-April

Species tulips. Amelanchier blossoms.



and the grasses, oh my.

Amelanchier On My Mind

Amelanchier buds, Floyd Bennett Garden 

Ever since the day I wondered about a certain bud in Prospect Park and the possibility that it could be a type of Amelanchier (Shadbush, Serviceberry), it seems I can't go anywhere without seeing this tree. Yesterday at Floyd Bennett, I snapped the picture above of an Amelanchier with fat buds planted near the community garden gazebo. And then walking home today, I spied the pretty striped bark below, one of the shadbush's characteristics...

and looked up and saw these buds opening...



And so I'm still left wondering. Are the buds pictured below from Prospect Park also from an Amelanchier, but another species? I see a bit of a similarity but none of the white fuzziness as on the other opening buds. Now I'm going to have to check out that tree in Prospect Park again to find out.

(Update: The answer is no. The buds below do not belong to the Amelanchier. They possibly belong to another native fruit-baring tree though.)