Amelanchier alnifolia var. pumila
Dwarf service berry
Family: Rosaceae · Type: shrub · Native
Dwarf service berry is a California native shrub found in the northern and central Sierra Nevada Mountains on the eastern slope, inhabiting open, often moist mountain scrub at elevations of 1,400 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces delicate white flowers in clusters of 4 to 8 blossoms, with petals 8 to 12 millimeters long. Growing as a compact shrub 1 to 3 meters tall with an upright form, it develops a sturdy branching structure. Its leaves are distinctive, with blades 10 to 50 millimeters long and 10 to 20 millimeters wide, appearing smooth and glabrous or occasionally with sparse hairs. The shrub produces edible dark fruits approximately 8 to 9 millimeters in diameter, making it both an ornamental and potentially useful landscape plant.
Habitat: Open, often moist scrub, mountain slopes
Bloom period: May-Jun
Elevation: 1400-2600 m
Bioregions: n&c SNH (e slope)
California counties: Siskiyou, Plumas, El Dorado, Alpine, Butte, Inyo, Kern, Placer, Shasta, Sierra, Tulare, Mono, Nevada, Lassen, Fresno, Tehama, Mariposa, Trinity
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.