Photo by Jonas Katona on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · photographed specimen identified as Amelanchier utahensis, a close relative
Serviceberry (saskatoon)
Amelanchier alnifolia
- When
- Typically June – July — June, July. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Coulees, forest edges, hedgerows and countless city plantings.
- How to know it
- A shrub or small tree with oval, toothed leaves; berries look like small blueberries but carry a tiny five-pointed crown at the tip and have soft seeds inside.
- Look-alikes
- Buckthorn berries are black and purgative; serviceberry keeps that little crown and grows on a shrub with smooth grey bark.
- Harvest and use
- Pies, jam, pemmican. Sweeter and nuttier than blueberry.
Found in these regions
- Prairies & Great Plains
- Boreal Forest & Shield
- Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Lowlands
- Western Mountains & Interior Plateaus
- Acadian Forest & Atlantic Coast
- Pacific Maritime
- Boreal North & Taiga
Hardiness zones 2–7.
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.