About 20; see text Amelanchier (/æməˈlænʃɪər/ am-ə-LAN-sheer),[1] also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum[2] or chuckley pear,[3] is a genus of about 20 species of deciduous-leaved shrubs and small trees in the rose family (Rosaceae).

The taxonomic classification of shadbushes has long perplexed botanists, horticulturalists, and others, as suggested by the range in number of species recognized in the genus, from 6 to 33, in two recent publications.

[4][5] A major source of complexity comes from the occurrence of hybridization, polyploidy, and apomixis (asexual seed production), making species difficult to characterize and identify.

The Canadian city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is named after the berry via a Cree term describing the sweet fruit which was wild-harvested for food by Aboriginal people and early settlers of western Canada.

[7] The various species of Amelanchier grow to 0.2–20 m (7.9 in – 65 ft 7.4 in) tall; some are small trees, some are multistemmed, clump-forming shrubs, and yet others form extensive low shrubby patches (clones).

Some orchards are cultivated in the Canadian prairie provinces which are subjected to severe winter cold of −60 °C (−76 °F), indicating the hardiness of the plant having a lifespan up to 50 years.

In years when late flowers of Amelanchier overlap those of wild roses and brambles, bees may spread bacterial fireblight.

The fruit of several species is safe to eat raw, possessing a mild sweetness strongly accented by the almond-like flavour of the seeds.

One version of the Native American food pemmican was flavored by serviceberry fruits in combination with minced dried meat and fat.

All need similar conditions to grow well, requiring good drainage, air circulation (to discourage leaf diseases), watering during drought, and soil appropriate for the species.