Edible and pretty, this flowering, fruit filled small tree has many names: Serviceberry (Amelanchier) aka Shadbush, aka Shadwood, aka Shadblow, aka Juneberry, aka Saskatoon, aka Sugarplum, aka Wild-plum, aka Chuckley pear. I missed seeing the tree when ti’s white flowers were in their springtime bloom. Researching that this was a Serviceberry tree I remembered a few that would brighten our patch of nearby forest when we lived in the suburbs. The white flowers were a welcome sign of spring. Turns out that some believe it’s name originates from it”s bloom signaling that the Appalachian roads had thawed enough to become passable allowing ‘circuit riding preachers to resume church service”. Another belief is that the blooms signaled grave diggers that the soil was soft enough to bury the dead finally. Read more details here. Copyright 2022 Pamela BreitbergThe Serviceberry fruit is edible, though I’ve never enjoyed them in jam,or pies or muffins. I hesitate to sample “edible” fruit on trees that I pass by because I don’t know what chemicals might be used for their growth. So sad…..it’s then when I wish I was a naive child who would try at least one small fruit. Oh my. Perhaps during my next visit to the Smokey Mountains I’ll taste some growing along the paths. Copyright 2022 Pamela Breitberg
