How do you recognise Snowy mespilus (Amelanchier ovalis)?

Leaf

Paul Fabre, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Snowy mespilus

Amelanchier ovalis Medik.

Also known as: Serviceberry

Family: Rosaceae

1 to 3 m tall

Hedges, rocky banks, gardens, free-draining limestone soils

Flowering: April – May

Full sun

Part shade

Hardy to -25°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Its generous white spring blossom is followed by small sweet berries appreciated by birds. To separate closely related Amelanchier, rely on several characters together: leaf shape, hairiness of young leaves and twigs, flowers and fruit size, rather than a single isolated criterion.

🍃 Leaves

Deciduous, ovate, toothed, downy at bud break, turning red in autumn

🌸 Flowers

White stars in clusters, appearing before or with the leaves

🍎 Fruits

Small sweet blue-black berries, edible

🪵 Bark

Smooth grey bark, bushy habit

🗺️ Distribution

Mountain and Mediterranean Europe (Alps, Pyrenees, limestone plateaux known as causses); fairly common on dry limestone slopes.

🐝 Value for pollinators

Early white spring flowering, much visited by bees and the first pollinators.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted in informal hedges, borders and dry gardens for its spring flowering and its fruits.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity; fruits edible.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Snowy mespilus

Amelanchier ovalis

Canadian serviceberry

Amelanchier canadensis

To separate closely related Amelanchier, rely on several characters together: leaf shape, hairiness of young leaves and twigs, flowers and fruit size, rather than a single isolated criterion.

🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.