Serviceberry Trees Add Color, Feed Wildlife

Serviceberry Trees Add Color, Feed Wildlife The serviceberry, native throughout eastern North America, has been a lifelong favorite for field naturalist Tami Gingrich. “I had a deep love of nature starting as a young child. I remember having all kinds of cages and aquariums when I was little and raising anything I could find,” Gingrich says. “I spent my career in the county where I grew up in northeast Ohio, surrounded by the nature I’m most familiar with.”  She’s long held a fondness for serviceberries. “When we built our house, there were a few target species I wanted to make sure were planted close by. One of them was the serviceberry. I wanted one within viewing distance of our windows and am so glad I did. The trees flourished in the forest opening and are now one of the biggest wildlife magnets we have.” Serviceberries, members of the rose family, are small deciduous trees also known as Juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum and shadbush. “As one of the first trees to bloom in the spring, they offer a much-needed mental boost after the long winter months,” Gingrich says. Serviceberry flowers were once considered a sign that the soil was thawed enough for spring burial services—hence the common name. “The fragrant blossoms help early pollinators like bees and butterflies, which leads to copious amounts of berries for birds and mammals. The leaves also play host to many caterpillar species,” says Gingrich. The flowers last about a week before transforming into juneberries. These waxy berries hang in clusters and appear in shades of red, blue and purple as they ripen at different times. Gingrich describes the taste as “a blueberry crossed with an apple, with a touch of rosewater and the crunch of almond-flavored seeds. A wild and complex flavor.” She samples conservatively, as the berries are an essential food for wildlife. “Still, every few years, our tree outproduces itself, and many berries drop to the ground uneaten. That’s when I’ll partake in the harvest myself, though I’ll only pick enough berries for the recipes I’m planning. They freeze nicely; sometimes I’ll make them last a couple years.” Gingrich never harvests more than a quart every few years. She cautions readers to use similar restraint. “Only take a limited number from each tree. Never decimate the yields. I actually never wild-harvest serviceberries and only collect them from the tree in my yard.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tami Gingrich (Royalwalnutmoth@gmail.com).

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