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Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Amelanchier nantucketensis — Nantucket serviceberry, Nantucket shadbush

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New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Facts

Nantucket shadbush is a globally rare species found only in the Northeast Atlantic coastal areas from Virginia to Nova Scotia. Once thought to be confined only to seaside locations, new populations have been recently identified on dry, open hilltops in interior Massachusetts. This leafy, much-branched shrub can be distinguised from related species in similar habitats by its small (5-7mm), spoon-shaped flower petals that sometimes bear pollen directly on their margins (an uncommon phenomenon known as andropetaly).

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields, ridges or ledges, shores of rivers or lakes, sandplains and barrens

Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
Growth form
the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
Leaf type
the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
Leaves per node
there is one leaf per node along the stem
Leaf blade edges
the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
Leaf duration
the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
armature on plant
the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Leaf blade length
20–30 mm
Leaf blade width
15–20 mm
Leaf stalk
the leaves have leaf stalks
Fruit type (general)
the fruit is fleshy
Bark texture
the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
Twig winter color
gray
Bud scale number
there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
Show all characteristics

  • Buds or leaf scars

    Bud scale number
    there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
    Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
    NA
    Collateral buds
    there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
    Superposed buds
    there are no superposed buds on the branch
    Winter bud scales
    the winter bud is perulate (partially or completely covered with one or more scales)

  • Flowers

    Carpels fused
    the carpels are fused to one another
    Enlarged sterile flowers
    there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
    Flower petal color
    white
    Flower symmetry
    there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
    Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
    • the top of the ovary has hairs on it
    • the top of the ovary has no hairs
    Hypanthium present
    the flower has a hypanthium
    Inflorescence type
    the inflorescence is a raceme (a long unbranched stem with stalked flowers growing along it)
    Number of pistils
    1
    Ovary position
    • the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
    • the ovary is below the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
    Petal and sepal arrangement
    the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
    Petal appearance
    the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
    Petal fusion
    the perianth parts are separate
    Sepal cilia (Ilex)
    NA
    Sepals fused only to sepals
    the sepals are separate from one another
    Stamen number
    • 10
    • 11
    • 12
    • 13 or more
    Stamen position relative to petals
    NA
    Stamens fused
    the stamens are not fused to one another

  • Fruits or seeds

    Berry color
    red
    Fruit tissue origin
    the hypanthium of the flower becomes part of the fruit
    Fruit type (general)
    the fruit is fleshy
    Fruit type (specific)
    the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
    Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
    NA
    Wings on fruit
    there are no wings on the fruit

  • Glands or sap

    Sap color
    the sap is clear and watery
    Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
    NA

  • Growth form

    Growth form
    the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)

  • Leaves

    Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
    the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
    Leaf blade base shape
    • The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes)
    • the base of the leaf blade is rounded
    Leaf blade edges
    the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
    Leaf blade edges (Acer)
    NA
    Leaf blade flatness
    the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
    Leaf blade hairs
    NA
    Leaf blade length
    20–30 mm
    Leaf blade scales
    there are no scales on the leaf blades
    Leaf blade shape
    • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
    • the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
    • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
    Leaf blade texture
    the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
    Leaf blade translucent dots
    there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
    Leaf blade width
    15–20 mm
    Leaf duration
    the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
    Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
    NA
    Leaf midrib glands
    the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
    Leaf stalk
    the leaves have leaf stalks
    Leaf stalk nectaries
    there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
    Leaf teeth
    the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
    Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
    NA
    Leaf type
    the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
    Leaves per node
    there is one leaf per node along the stem
    Specific leaf type
    the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
    Stipules
    the plant has stipules

  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    • Connecticut
    • Maine
    • Massachusetts
    • New Hampshire
    • Rhode Island
    Specific habitat
    • man-made or disturbed habitats
    • meadows or fields
    • ridges or ledges
    • sandplains or barrens
    • shores of rivers or lakes

  • Scent

    Plant odor
    the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Aerial roots
    the plant has no aerial roots
    Bark texture
    the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
    Branch brittleness (willows only)
    NA
    Branch cross-section
    the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
    First-year cane (Rubus)
    NA
    Pith shape
    the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
    Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
    NA
    Twig winter color
    gray
    Wings on branch
    the branch does not have wings on it
    armature on plant
    the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns

Wetland status

Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)

New England distribution and conservation status

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
present
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
present
Rhode Island
present
Vermont
absent

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Connecticut
not applicable (S-rank: SNA)
Maine
rare (S-rank: S2), threatened (code: T)
Massachusetts
uncommon to fairly widespread (S-rank: S3S4)
New Hampshire
unrankable (S-rank: SU), Ind (code: Ind)
Rhode Island
extremely rare (S-rank: S1), state endangered (code: SE)

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes confused with

Amelanchier spicata:
petals mostly 6-10 mm long, not pollen-bearing (vs. A. nantucketensis, with petals mostly 3-6 mm long, sometimes pollen-bearing).

Synonyms

  • Amelanchier micropetala (B.L. Robins.) Ashe
  • Amelanchier oblongifolia (Torr. & Gray) M. Roam. var. micropetala B.L. Robins.
  • Amelanchier stolonifera Wieg. forma micropetala (B.L. Robins.) Rehd.

Family

Rosaceae

Genus

Amelanchier

Help

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae

8.  Amelanchier nantucketensis Bickn. N

Nantucket shadbush. Amelanchier micropetala (B.L. Robins.) Ashe; A. oblongifolia (Torr. & Gray) M. Roam. var. micropetala B.L. Robins.; A. stolonifera Wieg. forma micropetala 
 (B.L. Robins.) Rehd. • CT, MA, ME, NH, ri. Fields, roadsides, sand plains, ledges, river shore outcrops, ridges. Two forms of this species are found in New England—one with a glabrous ovary summit ( nantucketensis s.s.) that is found on the coastal islands of MA (rarely elsewhere) and another with a pubescent ovary summit ( micropetala) that is found on the mainland 
of MA and in ME and NH. This species is very difficult to distinguish from Amelanchier spicata in the absence of flowers. Some forms of A. nantucketensis are readily distinguished from A. spicata—those that grow taller than 2 m and those that produce arrow-straight shoots ( A. spicata never exceeds 2 m in the wild and never produces arrow-straight shoots). Unfortunately, these forms of A. nantucketensis are rare. Amelanchier nantucketensis commonly has leaf blades that are subentire in the basal third, whereas A. spicata has leaf blades that are commonly toothed to the base. Unfortunately, variation in these species makes applying this characters difficult.