Early Blooms

From our walk last Thursday we found a nice specimen of this tree/shrub growing on the north bank of Silver Creek. 

click on image to enlarge

 

Meet Amelanchier sanguinea - the tree known as serviceberry, Juneberry, shadbush or shadblow.   An early bloomer - the colloquial origin of the name comes from 'service'.  The blooming of the serviceberry indicated the ground had thawed sufficiently to dig graves so those who died over the previous winter when the only way to deal with the bodies was to allow them to freeze and wait for spring to be buried. 

The plant’s other name  - shadblow - because the fruit matures in June when the shad swim into the rivers.  The plant’s etymology similarly explains the name serviceberry by noting that the flowers bloom about the time roads in the Appalachian Mountains became passable - allowing circuit-riding preachers to resume church services.  

All of this is interesting folklore for sure; nevertheless, the serviceberry is an early blooming plant and as a consequence has an important role as a food source for pollinators like bees and butterflies.   Birds and wildlife are very attracted to serviceberry’s fruit. The fruit may be eaten by orioles, cardinals, thrushes, catbirds, woodpeckers, waxwings, robins, squirrels, and chipmunks.  And if you are people - and can collect enough of the berries - it makes a mean serviceberry pie.