Saskatoon
Amelanchier alnifolia
Rose family (Rosaceae)

A favorite food of many birds and other animals, the ripe berries of Saskatoon, also called Serviceberry, are also humanly edible -- raw or cooked. The fruit can be dried, and it was a traditional ingredient in pemmican. Native Americans used the plant for a wide range of purposes including food, medicine, weapons, and tools.

The genus name, "Amelanchier," is the name of a French plant. "Alnifolia" means "alder-like (Alnus) foliage." The common name "Saskatoon" comes from the Cree word misâskwatômina, which means "the fruit of the tree with many branches". The common name "serviceberry," originated with early Eastern settlers who used these very early spring flowers for burial services when the ground finally thawed enough to allow them to bury loved ones who had died in the winter.

Description

Bushy deciduous shrub or small tree, up to 20' tall, with red or dark gray stems. Smooth, dark gray bark when mature. Leaves alternate, 1-2", oval to nearly round. Leaf tips rounded and coarsely toothed. White star-shaped flowers with 5 slender petals arise from rim of a flat cup, in clusters near tips of branches. Fruit matures into purple-black pomes (like tiny apples) with a waxy covering.

Field Marks

White star-shaped flowers, red-purple berries, leaf tips rounded and coarsely toothed.

© Al Schneider