The serviceberry can be found at the border of a forest, brightening the edges. The stirring of its petals marks the time between the depths of winter and beginnings of spring. It signifies the rushing of the shad and the thawing ground — when people were able to bury those who had passed in the winter months and to hold a funeral service in their honor. Among the many folk names used to reference the myriad uses of this small tree, it is commonly called the serviceberry or shadberry.
Serviceberry trees are found in every temperate region in the world, but most of its species are native to the Northeastern U.S. Serviceberry rises from the soil in several winding branches that can grow 10-40 feet tall. Squint and see the way these winding branches resemble rose bushes. It is part of the rose family and so blooms early in the season in a celebratory confetti of petals, like sakura and apple and pear trees.
But serviceberry doesn’t proliferate only through seed and fruit production. It grows up from rhizomatic roots. New trees emerge from wandering suckers, so the serviceberry are often seen growing in colonies.
To write about the serviceberry is to write about the vast company it keeps. These produce the Potawatomi bozakmin, also known as sugarplums or Juneberries, berries that are somewhat dry and slightly tart and ever so edible. The fruit looks like a blueberry wearing a tiny crown.
In her recent bestseller The Serviceberry, Robin Wall Kimmerer explains that the Potawatomi root word min refers to berry, but it also means gift. These trees give with a radical generosity, with dozens of berries on each branch. Unlike the rounded and clean rose family relatives, their petals are long and loose and extend out like dancing stars, each with male and female parts active at the same time.
And yet they remain more resilient than many other fruit trees. They prefer a slightly wet well draining loam but can withstand drier, saltier, and tougher clay soils. Elliptic leaves alternate out from the branches with gently pointed tips, small teeth, and soft undersides. These leaves blush with vibrant colors that range from golden to mauve come autumn.
But serviceberry is slow. It is one of the hardest wood trees in all of North America. These trees have been used for bows, arrow shafts, and digging tools with their sturdy and durable fibers. Even the fruits are slow, taking two to three months to ripen.
Kimmerer describes these trees as filled with birds. And, indeed, they provide food for more than 40 bird species, an aviary in their leafy heads. Find a squirrel, chipmunk, bear, or rabbit underfoot. The serviceberry doesn’t have to be big to contribute to the vitality of its ecosystem. It grows in clearings and at the edges of forests, where the sun can illuminate them for portions of the day. It is the larval plant for the navy blue viceroy butterfly. Plants that enjoy shade can be planted under it.
The serviceberry is one of those plants that reminds us how much abundance there innately is in the natural world. All season long, it gives and gives.
