Botany Photo of the Day

And a few common alternative common names for Amelanchier alnifolia (I'm not sure if these were sent along by Connor or Shannon): serviceberry, Pacific serviceberry, juneberry, western serviceberry, western shadbush

Which species of the amelanchier has the beautiful fall color? I grew up in Germany with one kind, beautiful spring flowers, gorgeous fall color, I don't recall it suckering much. I have been trying to find which species that was. BTW I never knew that the berries were edible.
Susanne

A. x lamarckii is naturalized in NW Germany, is derived from and resembles A. laevis.

The common names were sent by Shannon.

We have this plant in our Demonstration Teaching Gardens in Tulsa, OK, USA. While the berries may be edible, the coordinator of the Master Gardener Program here popped one in his mouth as we inspected the gardens one day. From the way he hoped around and said loud noises like "Eww!!" and "Yuck!!", I have always assumed this berry was better suited to jams and jellies.

we know it as serviceberry and I love the associated story -- it blooms when the ground has thawed out enough to bury (and hold services for) those that died over the winter.

Flavor varies.

Another name is Saskatoon serviceberry.

The berries are actually quite tasty, somewhat less acidic than a blueberry and slightly sweeter. I can only suspect that the coordinator of the Master Gardner program popped an unripe serviceberry into his mouth.

Seedlings I grew here for awhile fruited well be had poor flavor.

"we know it as serviceberry and I love the associated story -- it blooms when the ground has thawed out enough to bury (and hold services for) those that died over the winter"

Nice story, but apocryphal. The name derives from Latin Sorbus, via Anglo-Saxon syrfe.

Although the same species, the Amelanchier alnifolia in Northern California seem to taste different than those further north; I found those in Oregon less pleasant, but in California they taste like raw, fresh peas (which I enjoy immensely but found hard to accept from a berry, at first).
Oregon grape and salal (Mahonia/Berberis and Gaultheria shallon) are also native berries that some call "an acquired taste."

I like your mention of the connection of this plant to the first peoples traditional diet.
Many of the foods that made up early peoples diets, are now considered "an acquired taste". However, when a culture has a relationship with a food, others, from outside, experiencing it's taste, often react this way.
For example: Marmite.

The first serviceberry I ever tasted was last summer in a New York City community garden of all places. I'd known that they were edible, but never thought they'd be as tasty as they were. I don't know what species that Amelanchier was, but the berries seemed a bit like blueberries.

On an unrelated note, I must say that I've given Marmite (and Vegemite) plenty of chances, but don't think I'm ever going to acquire a taste for it!

ahhh Saskatoons, my favourite berry of summer growing up in central Manitoba. I have managed to get two varieties as well as a wild volunteer to fruit in my garden here in Southern BC.. great in jam and preserves mixed with other fruits, as well as in pies and crumbles.. yumm. thanx for the pictures and the story

After all, you can never be sure until you try it: rosehips (rosaceae) ae disgusting raw because of their hairiness, which is also not actually very good for you, but rosehip syrup was vital during WW2 for Vitamin C for children in the UK and elsewhere. In New Zealand we have a native rosaceae family plant known as Bush Lawyer because of the way it grabs hold of the passerby with its thorns. Its berries are boringly sweet but flavourless, although they do look like Blackberries (also rosaceae)which are delicious. So one thing we can all be sure of: someone somewhere will make use of it and be glad of it!

Rosaceae? really? I would have put money on Ericaceae.

In my experience (a cultivar in my parents' backyard in Illinois) serviceberries look and taste much like blueberries, but a little bit more tart. I actually like them much better because i find blueberries to be mostly just sweet and fairly bland.

If you want to taste real good saskatoons, come to the Canadian Prairie Provinces. It is a commercial crop here. At the moment there are 3,000 acres in the three Provinces, half of that is in Alberta. There are more than a dozen cultivars. Our most popular cultivar are Smoky, Pembina, Northline, Thiessen and Honeywood. These will give the best blueberry a run for its money.
Peace
Thean

Does any one know any nutritional information on service berry?