Amelanchier alnifolia, the saskatoon, Pacific serviceberry, western serviceberry, alder-leaf shadbush, dwarf shadbush, chuckley pear, or western juneberry, is a shrub with edible berry-like fruit, native to North America from Alaska across most of western Canada and in the western and north-central United States. Historically, it was also called pigeon berry. It grows from sea level in the north of the range, up to elevation in California and in the Rocky Mountains, and is a common shrub in the forest understory.
It is a deciduous shrub or small tree that most often grows to, rarely to, in height. Its growth form spans from suckering and forming colonies to clumped. The leaves are oval to nearly circular, long and broad, on a leaf stem, margins toothed mostly above the middle. The foliage is browsed by deer and livestock. As with all species in the genus Amelanchier, the flowers are white, with five quite separate petals. In A. alnifolia, they are about across, and appear on short racemes of three to 20 somewhat crowded together, in spring while the new leaves are still expanding. The fruit is a small purple pome in diameter, ripening in early summer in the coastal areas and late summer further inland. They are eaten by wildlife including birds, squirrels and bears. It is also a larval host to the pale tiger swallowtail, two-tailed swallowtail, and the western tiger swallowtail.
A. a. var. alnifolia. Northeastern part of the species' range.
A. a. var. pumila A.Nelson. Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada.
A. a. var. semiintegrifolia C.L.Hitchc. Pacific coastal regions, Alaska to northwestern California.
Cultivation and uses
Seedlings are planted with between rows and between plants. An individual bush may bear fruit 30 or more years. Saskatoons are adaptable to most soil types with exception of poorly drained or heavy clay soils lacking organic matter. Shallow soils should be avoided, especially if the water table is high or erratic. Winter hardiness is exceptional, but frost can damage blooms as late as May. Large amounts of sunshine are needed for fruit ripening. With a sweet, nutty taste, the fruits have long been eaten by Canada's aboriginal people, fresh or dried. They are well known as an ingredient in pemmican, a preparation of dried meat to which saskatoon berries are added as flavour and preservative. They are used in saskatoon berry pie, jam, wines, cider, beers, and sugar-infused berries similar to dried cranberries used for cereals, trail mix, and snack foods. In 2004, the British Food Standards Agency suspended saskatoon berries from retail sales pending safety testing; the ban eventually was lifted after pressure from the European Union.
Also similar in composition to blueberries, saskatoons have total polyphenol content of 452 mg per 100 g, flavonols and anthocyanins, although others have found the phenolic values to be either lower in the 'Smoky' cultivar or higher. Quercetin, cyanidin, delphinidin, pelargonidin, petunidin, peonidin, and malvidin were present in saskatoon berries.
