Rosaceac (Rose Family)
General - a rigid, upright shrub to 5 m high, sometimes a low, straggly shrub.
Leaves - alternate; broad, oval or elliptic, rounded, appearing somewhat heart-shaped at the base, bluntly pointed at the tip; margins coarsely toothed below the middle; hairless above.
Flowers - profuse, in dense upright clusters; flower stalks silky-hairy; individual flowers approx. 2 cm in diameter, with 5 white petals; appearing in May and early June.
Fruit - berry-like, juicy, blackish, with a whitish, powder-like coating, approx. 1 cm long; ripening in July and August.
Infrequent but throughout boreal and Great Lakes forests, across a range of upland forest sites. Also occurring in forest openings, along margins and roadsides.
The Shadbush is sometimes difficult to distinguish from the Red-twigged Serviceberry. Crossbreeding of some species creates a continuing range of variability between specimens. The Shadbush is best distinguished from the Red-twigged Serviceberry by its erect flower cluster and branchlet colour.
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