shadbush

9.9

A small tree or bush with white spring flowers and dark berries you can eat

noun
/ˈʃædˌbʌʃ/

: shadbush

As I walked through the park, I admired the beautiful white blossoms of the shadbush against the clear blue sky.

Examples

The wildlife in the area depends on the berries produced by the shadbush for food during the summer.
Still smaller trees or shrubs scattered through the forests are arrow-wood, mapleleaf viburnum, and smooth shadbush.

Academic text (2011)
In spring, the shadbush bursts into bloom, covering the landscape with delicate white flowers.

Synonyms

serviceberry

vsshadbush

1 9.2

A small tree or bush with white flowers and dark purple edible berries

is the regional shrub or tree name used for these species

juneberry

vsshadbush

8.8

A North American tree or shrub with white flowers and blue-black edible fruit

is the general name for this North American tree or shrub

shadblow

vsshadbush

9.9

A tree or shrub with white flowers and dark blue berries you can eat

is the standard single-word name used for the same genus

service tree

vsshadbush

9.9

A North American tree or shrub with white flowers that makes dark edible berries

is used especially for species within that same genus

Amelanchier

vsshadbush

Specialized

9.9

A small tree or bush with white flowers and sweet edible berries

is the common species-level name rather than the formal genus term

Surface Forms

shadbush singular

shadbushes plural

Morphology

shadbush = shad + bush (semi-transparent) = shad + bush

The compound structure 'shad' + 'bush' is clear, but knowing the specific referent 'shad' (a particular fish) is necessary to understand the name, so it is not fully transparent to average learners.

Etymology

Shadbush comes from shad and bush; shad is 'a kind of fish' and bush is 'a small tree or shrub'. People named the plant because it flowers when the shad swim upstream in spring, so seeing a shadbush in bloom is a sign that spring and its edible berries are coming.