Saskatoon

"Saskatoon, Service Berry or June Berry" (Amelanchier alnifolia)

2008 April 13

2008 May 5

2008 May 16

2008 May 18

2007 May 24

2007 June 17

2007 June 19

2007 July 20

2007 July 20

These add a really nice flavor to blueberry pie ... kind of perks up the blandness of blueberries. When I was a VERY young 'un and lived up in Taylor flats ... we not only had to pick buckets full of these berries in the summer but we practically lived on them through the winter. They were our fruit, but I can't call them my favorite food. I'm sure they are VERY good for you.

Hoofed animals browse on the Saskatoon bush in winter/spring and birds eat the berries. Native peoples ate these berries fresh, dried in cakes or dried like raisins. The plants can get as high as 4 meters tall! Sampling berries as I walked around the lakes in 2007, I noticed quite a difference in flavors, depending on where they were growing. The juice has a mild laxative affect.