Amelanchier alnifolia explained

Amelanchier alnifolia, the saskatoon berry, Pacific serviceberry, western serviceberry, western shadbush, or western juneberry, is a shrub native to North America. It is a member of the rose family, and bears an edible berry-like fruit.

Description

It is a deciduous shrub or small tree that most often grows to 1–, rarely to,[1] in height. Its growth form spans from suckering and forming colonies to clumped. The leaves are oval to nearly circular, 2- long and broad, on a leaf stem, with margins toothed mostly above the middle.

As with all species in the genus Amelanchier, the flowers are white,[2] with five quite separate petals and five sepals. In A. alnifolia, they are about across, with 20 stamens and five styles,[3] appearing on short racemes of 3–20, somewhat crowded together, blooming from April to July.

The fruit is a small purple pome in diameter, ripening in early summer. It has a waxy bloom. Saskatoon species can be relatively difficult to distinguish.

Chemistry

Saskatoons have total polyphenol content of 452 milligrams per 100 grams (average of 'Smoky' and 'Northline' cultivars), flavonols (61 mg) and anthocyanins (178 mg), although others have found the phenolic values to be either lower in the 'Smoky' cultivar[4] or higher.[5] Quercetin, cyanidin, delphinidin, pelargonidin, petunidin, peonidin, and malvidin were present in saskatoon berries.[6]

Taxonomy

Varieties

The three varieties are:[7]

Etymology

The name saskatoon derives from the Cree inanimate noun Cree: ᒥᓵᐢᐠᐘᑑᒥᓇ Cree: misâskwatômina (Cree: ᒥᓵᐢᐠᐘᑑᒥᐣ Cree: misâskwatômin, 'saskatoonberry', Cree: misâskwatômina 'saskatoonberries').[11]

The specific epithet alnifolia is a feminine adjective. It is a compound of the Latin word for "alder",, and the word for "leaf", .

Historically, it was also called pigeon berry.[12]

Distribution and habitat

The plant can be found from Alaska across most of western Canada and in the western and north-central United States. It grows from sea level in the north of the range, up to elevation in California and in the Rocky Mountains.[13] [14] It is a common shrub in the forest understory,[15] as well as canyons.

Ecology

A. alnifolia is susceptible to cedar-apple rust, Entomosporium leaf spot, fireblight, brown rot, Cytospora canker, powdery mildew, and blackleaf.[16] Problem insects include aphids, thrips, mites, bud moths, saskatoon sawflies, and pear slug sawflies.[16] It is also a larval host to the pale tiger swallowtail, two-tailed swallowtail, and the western tiger swallowtail.[17]

The foliage is browsed by deer, elk, rabbits, and livestock.[18] [19] The fruit are eaten by wildlife including birds, squirrels, and bears.[18]

Cultivation

Seedlings are planted with between rows and between plants. An individual bush may bear fruit 30 or more years.[20]

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.[20] [21]

Uses

With a sweet, nutty taste, the fruits have long been eaten by Indigenous peoples in Canada, 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.[22] [23] [24]

In 2004, the British Food Standards Agency suspended saskatoon berries from retail sales[25] pending safety testing; the ban eventually was lifted after pressure from the European Union.

Nutrition

Nutrients in raw saskatoon berries
NutrientValue per 100 g% Daily Value
Energy85 kcal
Total dietary fiber5.9 g20%
Sugars, total11.4 g8%
Calcium42 mg4%
Magnesium24 mg6%
Iron1 mg12%
Manganese1.4 mg70%
Potassium162 mg3%
Sodium0.5 mg0%
Vitamin C3.6 mg4%
Vitamin A11 IU1%
Vitamin E1.1 mg7%
Folate4.6 μg1%
Riboflavin3.5 mg> 100%
Panthothenic acid0.3 mg6%
Pyridoxine0.03 mg2%
Biotin20 μg67%

Saskatoon berries contain significant amounts of total dietary fiber, riboflavin and biotin, and the dietary minerals, iron and manganese, a nutrient profile similar to the content of blueberries.[22]

Culture

The city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is named after the berry; the city is also home to a baseball team called the Saskatoon Berries.[26]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Jacobson . Arthur Lee . North American Landscape Trees . 1996 . Ten Speed Press . Berkeley, CA USA . 0-89815-813-3 . 74 . Records: 42' x 3'3" x 43', Beacon Rock State Park, WA (1993); 27' x 3'9" x 22', Douglas County, OR (1975).
  2. Book: Taylor, Ronald J. . Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary . Mountain Press Pub. Co . 1994 . 0-87842-280-3 . rev. . Missoula, MT . 126 . en . 25708726 . 1992.
  3. Book: Spellenberg, Richard . National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region . Knopf . 2001 . 978-0-375-40233-3 . rev . 723 . 1979.
  4. 17994693 . 2007 . Ozga . A . Wismer . W . Reinecke . DM . Characterization of cyanidin- and quercetin-derived flavonoids and other phenolics in mature saskatoon fruits (Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt.) . 55 . 25 . 10414–24 . 10.1021/jf072949b . Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry . Saeed.
  5. 18052240 . 2007 . Hosseinian . T . Saskatoon and wild blueberries have higher anthocyanin contents than other Manitoba berries . 55 . 26 . 10832–8 . 10.1021/jf072529m . Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry . Beta.
  6. 18066116 . 2007 . Bakowska-barczak . M . Kolodziejczyk . P . Survey of bioactive components in Western Canadian berries . 85 . 11 . 1139–52 . 10.1139/y07-102 . Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology . Marianchuk.
  7. University of Maine: Amelanchier list of taxa
  8. Web site: University of Maine . Amelanchier alnifolia var. alnifolia . 18 September 2011 . 31 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120331002809/http://sbe.umaine.edu/amelanchier/?page_id=134 . dead.
  9. Web site: University of Maine . Amelanchier alnifolia var. pumila . 18 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120331002822/http://sbe.umaine.edu/amelanchier/?page_id=140 . 31 March 2012 . dead.
  10. Web site: University of Maine . Amelanchier alnifolia var. semiintegrifolia . 18 September 2011 . 31 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120331002830/http://sbe.umaine.edu/amelanchier/?page_id=143 . dead.
  11. Web site: Adam Augustyn . Saskatoon . Encyclopedia Britannica . 12 September 2021 . 2021 . 23 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210923022546/https://www.britannica.com/place/Saskatoon-Saskatchewan . live .
  12. Schorger, A.W. 1955. The Passenger Pigeon; its natural history and extinction. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison.
  13. Web site: Plants of British Columbia . Amelanchier alnifolia . 19 October 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120208001926/http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Amelanchier+alnifolia . 8 February 2012 . dead.
  14. Web site: Jepson Flora . Amelanchier alnifolia . 19 October 2007 . 28 September 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120928063547/http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Amelanchier+alnifolia . live .
  15. Web site: Dyrness, C. T. . Acker, S. A. . 2010 . Ecology of Common Understory Plants in Northwestern Oregon and Southwestern Washington Forests . H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, Oregon State University . https://web.archive.org/web/20120301172649/http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/lter/pubs/webdocs/reports/DyrnessAckerForest_Understory_Plants_20101202.pdf . 1 March 2012 . dead . 23 January 2014.
  16. Web site: Juneberries – Amelanchier alnifolia . Carrington REC . 13 May 2017 . 16 May 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150516223935/http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/carringtonrec/northern-hardy-fruit-evaluation-project/fruit-index/juneberry . live .
  17. The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
  18. Book: Little, Elbert L. . The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Western Region . Knopf . 1994 . 0394507614 . Chanticleer Press . 443–44 . 1980.
  19. Book: Fagan, Damian . Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert . . 2019 . 978-1-4930-3633-2 . Guilford, CT . 80 . 1073035766.
  20. Web site: Introduction to Saskatoons . dead . 6 January 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081212072602/http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/info_introduction_saskatoons.htm . 12 December 2008.
  21. Web site: St-Pierre . R. G. . Growing Saskatoons – A Manual For Orchardists . 28 May 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080317131319/http://www.prairie-elements.ca/saskatoons.html . 17 March 2008 . dead.
  22. Mazza . G. . Compositional and Functional Properties of Saskatoon Berry and Blueberry . International Journal of Fruit Science . 5 . 3 . 2005 . 101–120 . 1553-8362 . 10.1300/J492v05n03_10 . 85691882 . free.
  23. Encyclopedia: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/V2-516.html . Mazza . G . Davidson . CG . Saskatoon berry: A fruit crop for the prairies . 516–519 . J. . Janick . J.E. . Simon . New crops . Wiley . New York . 1993 . Archived copy . 21 October 2005 . 7 December 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121207175400/http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/V2-516.html . live .
  24. Web site: Saskatoon Berries . Government of Manitoba – Ministry of Agriculture . 24 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131002214656/http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/fruit/bld01s00.html . 2 October 2013 . dead.
  25. News: Britain plucks saskatoon berries from store shelves . CBC News . 7 July 2004 . 22 July 2015 . 24 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924155234/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britain-plucks-saskatoon-berries-from-store-shelves-1.512235 . live .
  26. News: O'Connor . Liam . 13 July 2023 . Saskatoon Berries chosen as name for new Western Canadian Baseball League team . CBC News . 3 August 2023 . 1 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230801211312/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-new-baseball-team-name-berries-1.6906502 . live .

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