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Conserving and restoring
America's native plants |
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CPC National Collection Plant Profile
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Amelanchier nantucketensis
| Family: |
Rosaceae (Rose Family) |
| Common Names: |
Nantucket juneberry, Nantucket shadbush |
| Author: |
Bickn. |
| Growth
Habit: |
Shrub |
| CPC
Number: |
6022 |
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| Primary
custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered
Plants is: |
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| Irina Kadis contributed to this Plant Profile. |
Amelanchier nantucketensis
|
Amelanchier nantucketensis, an endemic of the Atlantic Coast, has a very restricted distribution area (Crow 1985). This species is a low growing, slender shrub that forms large, dense colonies or small clumps by way of producing underground stolons (Seymour 1989). It can be found in sunny, sandy areas, and produces cream-colored flowers in May and early June. Small, dark-blue berries appear in July and August. The Arnold Arboretum is cultivating this species as part of the Center for Plant Conservation's National Collection of rare and endangered plants.
| Distribution
& Occurrence |
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State Range
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Maine
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New York |
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Habitat
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This is a coastal plain plant of sunny, dry habitats on sandy soil, such as pine barrens, plain grasslands, dry moors. Responding positively to periodic disturbance, such as fire, cutting, or grazing, it thrives in such habitats as abandoned old fields, roadsides, pond edges (Dibble and Cambell 1995). |
Distribution
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From Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, MA to Long Island, NY (Dibble and Cambell 1995). |
Number Left
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On Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, 38 populations have been vouchered and 6 others were historically reported. Two populations are known from on Long Island, New York. (MANHP 2002) |
State/Area
Protection
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State/Area |
Rank |
Status |
Date |
|
| |
Maine |
S2 |
T |
7/1/1999 |
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Massachusetts |
S2 |
SC |
9/1/2001 |
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New Jersey |
none |
none |
9/1/2001 |
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New York |
S1 |
E |
4/1/2001 |
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| Conservation,
Ecology & Research |
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Ecological
Relationships
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Fruits are most desirable for song birds, small mammals. Fruits ripen gradually during the summer. |
Threats
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• Irresponsible and uncontrolled development of vacation and retirement housing and recreation at vulnerable coastal habitats. This shrub's survival totally depends on existence of these rare habitats, with which it is associated. (MANHP 2002).
• Restrictions for recreational use and development banning will save this endemic of the Atlantic Coast together with other components of this unique environment (MANHP 2002).
• Lack of frequent controlled fire causing habitat succession.
• Overtopping by aggressive arboreal species or fast growing herbs or vines may eventually eliminate the species (MANHP 2002). |
Current Research Summary
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A study in pollination ecology (Dibble et al. 1997) found that Amelanchier nantucketensis is pollinated by bees that prefer large floral patches. Since floral density for this clonal plant is likely to be one genetic individual, bee preference for large patches may thwart genetic outcrossing and make genetic conservation problematic (Dibble and Camble 1995).
The Arnold Arboretum has studied propagation techniques for the species:
Propagation from seed: Fruits should be picked from the plants immediately on ripening, clean seed, 3-months cold stratification.
Propagation by softwood cuttings: in June-July in 50/50 sand-perlite mix under mist, treated by 5,000 ppm K-IBA. |
Current Management Summary
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No formal management plan has been designed. |
Research Management Needs
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A management plan needs to be designed and implemented. Research needs include understanding general habitat requirements for each plant life stage. |
Ex Situ Needs
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| Books (Single Authors)
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| Crow, G.E. 1982. New England's rare, threatened, and endangered plants. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 169p. |
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| Dirr, M.A.; Heuser, C.W. 1987. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens, GA: Varsity Press, Inc. |
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| Seymour, F.C. 1989. The flora of New England. A manual for the identification of all vascular plants including ferns and their allies growing without cultivation in New England. Boston: Boston Museum Science. 611 + appendixp. |
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| Books (Sections)
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| Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the U.S., Canada, and Greenland. In: Kartesz, J.T.; Meacham, C.A., editors. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden. Chapel Hill, NC. |
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| Electronic Sources
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| (2002). New York Botanical Garden--The Virtual Herbarium. [Searchable Web site] New York Botanical Garden. Fordham Road Bronx, New York. http://scisun.nybg.org:8890/searchdb/owa/wwwspecimen.searchform. Accessed: 2002. |
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| MANHESP. (1993). Massachusetts Endangered Plants Fact Sheets. Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program; Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, Massachusetts. http://www.state.ma.us/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/nhfactplt.htm. Accessed: 2002. |
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| Journal Articles
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| 1967. Seventeenth Report of the Committee on Plant Conservation. Rhodora. 69: 306-317. |
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| Dibble, A.C.; Campbell, C.S. 1995. Distribution and conservation of Nantucket shadbush, Amelanchier nantucketensis (Rosaceae). Rhodora. 97, 892: 339-349. |
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| Dibble, A.C.; Drummond, F.A. 1997. Floral syndrome in Amelanchier nantucketensis (Rosaceae). I. Floral density, bee activity, and characterization of andropetaly. Canadian Journal of Botany. 75: 1851-9. |
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| Dibble, A.C.; Drummond, F.A.; Laberge, W.E. 1997. Floral syndrome in Amelanchier nantucketensis (Rosaceae). II. Bee preference and diversity associated with andropetaly. Canadian Journal of Botany. 75: 1860-7. |
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| Dibble, A.C.; Wright, W.A.; Campbell, C.S. 1998. Morphological variation in Shadbush, Amelanchier (Rosaceae) at a taxonomically complex site in Maine. Systematic Botany. 23, 1: 31-41. |
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| Lamont, E.E.; Fitzgerald, J.M. 2000. Noteworthy plants reported from the Torrey Range - 2000. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society. 128 |
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| Reports
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| TNC. 1987. The Nature Conservancy Stewardship Abstracts. The Nature Conservancy. p.104. |
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| Theses
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| Dibble, Alison C. 1995. Conservation Biology of Shadbush, Amalanchier (Roseaceae): Evidence from Systematics, Population Structure and Reproductive Ecology. [Ph.D. Thesis]: University of Maine. 194p. |
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