PNW Native
Ranges across northern Hemisphere.
Fruits of serviceberry are berry-like pomes, ¼ - ½ in wide, red ripening to a dark purple-black, often with a dusty white bloom over the surface. The plant grows as a tall shrub or small tree, up to 5 m / 20 ft tall and with deciduous, alternate, oval leaves that have toothed margins along the top half. Flowers are 5-petaled with numerous stamens and long, thin white petals, and grow in clusters. (PM)
Numerous bird and mammal species eat serviceberries including squirrels, chipmunk, mice, black bear, voles, and elk. Serviceberry appears to exist in a symbiotic relationship with the gypsy moth, whose preferred food is the serviceberry during larval stages. Common serviceberry has been seen to increase in both density and number after gypsy moth larvae consume their leaves. (S)
Serviceberry, also known as saskatoon, grows on scree slopes, rocky shorelines, thickets, forest margins, meadows, open clearings, roadsides, and soils with good drainage; flourishes East of the Cascades. (PM)
The term serviceberry originates with Sorbus, the Latin name of mountain-ash, a close relative of serviceberry. (DM) The two plants are close enough to form hybrids, and saskatoon has a tendency to hybridize and form new species hard to distinguish.
The heavy, hard wood of serviceberries is sometimes made into handles. The Cree people prized arrows made from it. (N) The Skagit eat the berries fresh and report the Yakama dry the berries. The Lummi first dry the berries then boil them with chum salmon as a winter feast meal. The Swinomish and Chehalis eat the berries fresh and dry it for winter, and the Chehalis use saskatoon berries as seasoning. The fruit is eaten widely amongst local tribes, including the Snohomish, S’Klallam, and Lower Chinook. The Snohomish use serviceberry wood to create discs for slahalem, a gambling game important amongst the Lushootseed Salish. The Swinomish and Samish used the hard wood as a spreader bar in the rigging for halibut fishing lines. (EG)
Saskatoon was more widely used by interior tribes largely due to the abundance of other edible berries on the western side of the Cascades, and reached its height of use and importance among Northern Great Plains Peoples
The fruit, similar in flavor to blueberry, is eaten fresh or cooked in puddings, jams, and pastries. (N)
The serviceberry is used for pulpwood in areas where it commonly grows large enough to facilitate such usage. (S)
Serviceberry, also known as saskatoon, is a prized ornamental in gardens and useful in wildlife restoration plantings. The striking autumn foliage of saskatoon turns vibrant red before the leaves drop. There have been cultivars of serviceberry bred to yield high outputs of sweet fruit for home gardens and commercial yields (LC)
[1] Snyder, S. A. 1992. Amelanchier arborea. In: Fire Effects Information System,. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/amearb/all.html.
[2] Neson, G. 2001. DOWNY SERVICEBERRY Amelanchier arborea. USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet. https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_amar3.pdf
