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Dwarf Serviceberry

Amelanchier alnifolia · Rosaceae · all Amelanchier records

Your local evidence lens

Separate evidence questions, never one approval badge

Set a ZIP to compare this record with state distribution, native range, USDA hardiness, and invasive records.

A genus split is not a placement verdict. Set a ZIP to read the local documented split.

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Fire-resistant — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions: 1 condition stated in cited fire-evidence rows.
Fire ecology context: No section-reviewed fire-ecology context is normalized.
Placement evidence: 5 source placement records; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: Alaska; Arizona above 3,000 feet / interior Southwest; Black Hills, South Dakota; Colorado / Rocky Mountain Front Range; Colorado, California, and northeastern United States; Fremont County, Wyoming; Global; Michigan / Great Lakes; New Mexico; southern Idaho / Intermountain
Maintenance: No sourced horticultural maintenance assertion is normalized; fire-test conditions do not supply maintenance advice.

Typed publication scope: 8 scopes across 8 cited fire sources

Protect Your Home from Wildfire — Fire Resistant Vegetation and Landscaping · Official scoped edition
- AK; partial normalized coverage · 2005-04-27
  Alaska Division of Forestry opens with the wildfire threat to Alaskans and publishes Alaska firewise-landscape examples. FireApproved publishes 58 exact source owners from its 60 taxon entries and holds the taxon-free fern label. State publication scope does not establish suitability for every Alaska climate, site, or home-ignition-zone placement.
Ignition-Resistant Landscape Plants (Fact Sheet 6.305) · Official scoped edition
- CO; partial normalized coverage · 2025-07-01
  Colorado State University Extension and the Colorado State Forest Service publish Fact Sheet 6.305 for Colorado's WUI and varied ecosystems. FireApproved exposes all 114 exact source owners at Colorado publication scope while retaining score, elevation, water, and Idaho-carrier lineage. Publication scope is not suitability for every Colorado site or zone.
Firewise Plant Material for the Black Hills · Official scoped edition
- Black Hills (SD footprint); partial normalized coverage
  The page explicitly limits itself to the Black Hills, and NFPA Firewise's archived 2006 plant-list index files it under South Dakota. FireApproved publishes 47 exact genus or species owners from 48 printed rows. This is bounded Black Hills context, not statewide South Dakota coverage or a finding that a plant suits a particular site.
Fremont County Firewise Plant List · Official scoped edition
- Fremont County (WY footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2011-02-25
  The source identifies itself as the Fremont County Firewise Plant List. FireApproved publishes its 92 exact source owners as Fremont County regional context. No methodology, current county endorsement, statewide Wyoming scope, or site-specific suitability is inferred.
Fire Resistance of Plants Master Database · Official scoped edition
- Southern Idaho (ID footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2013-11-08
  The official database labels itself "For Southern Idaho" and describes Idaho residents at the urban-rangeland interface. FireApproved publishes 419 existing plant owners that cite its scored rows. This bounded Southern Idaho scope is regional context, not statewide coverage or a conclusion that the score transfers unchanged to every Idaho site.
Wildfire-resistant Landscape Plants for Michigan (Extension Bulletin E2948) · Official scoped edition
- MI; partial normalized coverage · 2007-01-01
  Michigan State University Extension Bulletin E2948 is explicitly a list of wildfire-resistant landscape plants for Michigan and includes a Michigan-native field. FireApproved publishes 221 exact GBIF owners from 226 represented source rows and holds 15 complex or non-exact rows. This dated publication scope is not a current site-suitability determination.
FireWise Plant List for New Mexico · Official scoped edition
- NM; partial normalized coverage · 2003-10-08
  New Mexico Forestry Division publishes this as its FireWise Plant List for New Mexico. FireApproved accounts for all 140 printed rows and publishes 95 exact same-rank owners already represented in the directory; 29 exact taxa without an existing record, 14 unresolved spellings or higher-rank matches, one compound taxon cell, and one species row whose only apparent owner has an infraspecific printed identity remain held. Every published row retains the source's Y, N, ?, or blank elevation cells. Publication scope does not erase those elevation limits or establish suitability for every New Mexico site.
FIREWISE Plant Materials for 3,000 ft. and Higher Elevations (AZ1289) · Official scoped edition
- Arizona at or above 3,000 feet (AZ footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2011-12-01
  AZ1289 is explicitly limited to Arizona elevations of 3,000 feet and higher. FireApproved publishes 69 exact owners as regional Arizona context, retaining every water and elevation condition. It is never promoted to statewide low-desert guidance or an independent Tier 1 vote.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution: Documented in AK, CA, CO, IA, ID, MN, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY.
Native range: Current cited native range in AK, AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, KS, MN, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, NY, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY.
Introduced / established: No introduced or established row is normalized; that does not prove native status.
USDA hardiness: 2 applicable cited hardiness statements overlap but have different boundaries; compare each complete source row.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status: Set a location for an exact legal-list result; source silence is not clearance.
Seed-list status: Set a location to compare the separate state noxious-weed seed layer.
Reported invasive here: No ecological invasive report is normalized; that does not prove noninvasiveness.
Broader regional context: Aggregate AK, HI, and L48 evidence is shown only as regional context, never as an exact-state finding.
Federal context: Federal designations remain separate from state legal-list results.

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Dwarf Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) — Photo: (c) Gavin Slater, some rights reserved (CC BY) (CC BY), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

Form: shrub
USDA hardiness: Applicable source statements overlap but have different boundaries; compare each source
Mature height: ~15 ft
Water need: moderate
Current cited native range: AK, AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, KS, MN, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, NY, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY
Grows in: AK, CA, CO, IA, ID, MN, MT, ND +8
Rated in: Alaska; Arizona above 3,000 feet / interior Southwest; Black Hills, South Dakota; Colorado / Rocky Mountain Front Range +6
Family: Rosaceae
Evidence: 12 cited sources

Native and introduced range evidence

These are exact U.S. botanical-area records from the cited range source. Native and introduced describe biogeographic relationship, not fire performance or planting approval. Doubtful and extinct rows stay visible but do not count as current presence.

Current native

20

exact source areas

Current introduced

0

exact source areas

Qualified

0

doubtful or extinct source rows

20 native source areas · World Checklist of Vascular Plants, version 16 v16, as of 2026-06-04

Alaska (AK)
Arizona (AZ)
California (CA)
Colorado (CO)
Iowa (IA)
Idaho (ID)
Kansas (KS)
Minnesota (MN)
Montana (MT)
North Dakota (ND)
Nebraska (NE)
New Mexico (NM)
Nevada (NV)
New York (NY)
Oregon (OR)
South Dakota (SD)
Texas (TX)
Utah (UT)
Washington (WA)
Wyoming (WY)

The lossless worldwide derivative is retained once in the research corpus; object pages repeat only exact U.S. areas needed by the local lens. The JSON twin carries the same page assertions.

Plant hardiness evidence

These values describe the plant source. Your ZIP zone comes from the separate 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Whole-zone values stay whole-zone, and a single unresolved value is not treated as a tolerance range. Different source boundaries stay separate: overlapping statements are compared independently, while only ranges with no shared zone are called a conflict.

Wildfire-resistant Landscape Plants for Michigan (Extension Bulletin E2948) · record shrub:Amelanchier alnifolia · New, January 2007 · as of 2026-08-26

4–5 explicit range · whole zone precision · source stated

Source taxon: Amelanchier alnifolia · exact match.

Source location: Table 1, shrub row.
USDA PLANTS Database — Plant Characteristics · record AMAL2 · PLANTS Help Document 2022; characteristics cache retrieved 2026-08-23 · as of 2026-08-26

Exact minimum -62°F · below the published zone scale · half zone precision · below published scale

Source taxon: Amelanchier alnifolia · source identifier match.

Source location: PlantCharacteristics record 88654, Temperature, Minimum (°F).

Conditions in the fire evidence

These describe tested or rated plant material. They are not horticultural maintenance instructions.

green: Cone calorimeter testing of vegetation — an update evidence row

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

Fire Resistance of Plants Master Database: plantable at 50' from home [Idaho minimum planting distance] (mid-scale rating)
Ignition-Resistant Landscape Plants: below the source's score-8 threshold for zones 1-2 [CSU defensible-space zone] (mid-scale rating)
Protect Your Home from Wildfire: Shrubs [Alaska DNR brochure sections] (with its recommendation)
Firewise Plant Material for the Black Hills: Large shrubs & trees [black-hills-plant-form-table] (with its recommendation)
FireWise Plant List for New Mexico: PDF page 3, Trees and Large Shrubs, p3-r05 [nm-emnrd-firewise-table-row] (with its recommendation)

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Recommends (6)

FIREWISE Plant Materials for 3,000 ft. and Higher Elevations (AZ1289) — University of Arizona Cooperative Extension · 2011 revision · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: csu-nmsu-firewise

“listed FIREWISE plant material”

Listed among fire-resistant plant materials for Arizona above 3,000 feet.
Wildfire-resistant Landscape Plants for Michigan (Extension Bulletin E2948) — Michigan State University Extension (Hansen, Fernandez) · New, January 2007 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated

“considered wildfire-resistant and are recommended for Michigan’s climate”

Table 1 row: Amelanchier alnifolia (Alder-leaved serviceberry).
Fremont County Firewise Plant List — Fremont County Firewise · web page (server last-modified 2011-02-25) · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: unknown

“Fremont County Firewise Plant List — Amelanchier alnifolia — Saskatoon Alder-Leaf Serviceberry”

Listed in the source's Large Shrubs and Trees section; the page describes its listed Firewise plants as generally low-growing, low-debris, and relatively moist.
Protect Your Home from Wildfire — Fire Resistant Vegetation and Landscaping — Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Community Forestry Program · April 2005 · original source Corroboration Expert-curated lineage: unknown

“Following are a few of the plants that may be used in firewise landscapes in Alaska if placed and maintained appropriately.”

Listed as Serviceberry — Amelanchier alnifolia; the source conditions these examples on appropriate placement and maintenance.
Firewise Plant Material for the Black Hills — NFPA Firewise Communities · 2004 scan / 2007 archive · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: firewise-national

“Large shrubs & trees: Saskatoon alder-leaf serviceberry — Amelanchier alnifolia”

The introduction describes all table entries as fire-resistive plants that can be used in landscaping.
FireWise Plant List for New Mexico — New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, Forestry Division · 2003 Forestry Division PDF · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: csu-nmsu-firewise

“FireWise Plant List for New Mexico”

Listed as Amelanchier alnifolia (Saskatoon alder-leaf serviceberry) in Trees and Large Shrubs. Printed elevation cells: 4,000 ft=Y, 5,000 ft=Y, 6,000 ft=Y, 7,000 ft=Y, 8,000 ft=Y, 9,000+ ft=Y. Water need: L-M; sun/shade: S; mature height: 6-15’; approximate bloom: Apr- May.

Mid-scale / conditional (3)

Fire Resistance of Plants Master Database — Idaho Firewise (BLM + College of Western Idaho + Idaho Botanical Garden) · original source Primary evidence Field program lineage: idaho-tree

“fire-resistance score 6/5 (cultivars vary) of 10” · score 6 (idaho-0-10)
Cone calorimeter testing of vegetation — an update — USDA Forest Service (White, Weise, Mackes & Dibble) · 2002 · original source Primary evidence Lab-tested lineage: usfs-fpl-cone-tree

“Measured; not in an author-named high or low relative-flammability group” · score 80 (green-PHRR-kW-m2) · condition: green

Table 4 reports 143% foliage moisture, green-sample PHRR 80 kW/m2, and dry-sample EHOC 16.3 MJ/kg.
Ignition-Resistant Landscape Plants (Fact Sheet 6.305) — Colorado State University Extension / Colorado State Forest Service (Wildfire Mitigation Series) · 2025 · original source Primary evidence Field program lineage: idaho-tree

“ignitability score 7.5 of 10” · score 7.5 (idaho-0-10)

CSU 6.305 table lists Amelanchier alnifolia v. utahensis (Utah serviceberry) with the preserved ignitability score.

Listed without a rating (3)

FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

3 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
- “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 80” · score 80 (FLAMITS — maximum energy flux (kW/m²))
  
  FLAMITS record 14140; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device calorimeter; site White2002-2; sampling ND. Primary study White2002: White, R. H., Weise, D. R., Mackes, K., & Dibble, A. C. (2002). Cone calorimeter testing of vegetation--an update. Ninth International Conference on Electrical and Electronic Products. Columbus, Ohio, USA.
- “calorific value (kcal/kg): 3893.19” · score 3893.19 (FLAMITS — calorific value (kcal/kg))
  
  FLAMITS record 14193; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site White2002-2; sampling ND. Primary study White2002: White, R. H., Weise, D. R., Mackes, K., & Dibble, A. C. (2002). Cone calorimeter testing of vegetation--an update. Ninth International Conference on Electrical and Electronic Products. Columbus, Ohio, USA.
- “calorific value (kcal/kg): 3893.19” · score 3893.19 (FLAMITS — calorific value (kcal/kg))
  
  FLAMITS record 14285; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site White2002-2; sampling ND. Primary study White2002: White, R. H., Weise, D. R., Mackes, K., & Dibble, A. C. (2002). Cone calorimeter testing of vegetation--an update. Ninth International Conference on Electrical and Electronic Products. Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: USDA PLANTS · GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · ITIS

Amelanchier alnifolia (Dwarf Serviceberry). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/amelanchier-alnifolia/. Last verified 2026-08-23.