Amelanchier cusickii

Fernald.

Cusick's serviceberry

RosaceaeFruitLeavesSpice/Beverage

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) David Bell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by David Bell

iNaturalist · cc-by
(c) Steven Bodzin, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Steven Bodzin

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves - tea

The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked, and the leaves are used as a tea substitute.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows naturally on hillsides from near sea-level to the sub-alpine zone, mainly in the Rockies in Western North America. Plants are hardy to cold to at least - 20 °C.

North America, USA,

Countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, United States, St Vincent

How to Identify

A shrub to 3 m high. The flowers are large being 5 cm across. The fruit is 1 cm across.

How to Grow

It can be grown from seed, layering or suckers. Seed can take 18 months to germinate and layers can take 18 months to form roots.

Notes

There are about 25-30 Amelanchier species.

Names & Synonyms

Amelanchier alnifolia var. cusickii (Fernald.) C.Hitchc.Amelanchier florida var. cusickii (Fernald) M. Peck

References (3)

C. L. Hitchcock et al., Vasc. pl. Pacif. N.W. 3:94. 1961 (As Amelanchier florida var. cusickii)
Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 56
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/. (As Amelanchier florida var. cusickii)

What to Eat

Where to Find It

How to Identify

How to Grow

Notes

More from Rosaceae