Saskatoon Berry

  

(Amelanchier alnifolia)

saskatoon berry fruit
© jonpleizier, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)
saskatoon berry buds
© Elly Hutchinson, all rights reserved
saskatoon berry flowers
© jim22lawrence, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)
saskatoon berry leaves
© Alexey P. Seregin, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

Saskatoon Berry is a shrub to small tree native to western and interior North America. Common in forest understory, it occurs from sea level to elevated areas of the rocky mountains. It can form colonies from Suckering in moist fertile soil, but tolerates a variety of conditions including dry and acidic soils.

White flowers appear in spring followed by berry-like edible fruit (pommes) which ripen in the summer. Similar in appearance to blueberries, the fruit is tart in flavor and favorable for pies. When not picked by humans, they're commonly browsed by mammals including cattle, birds, and bears. Leaves oval to round, toothed toward the ends and turning a long lasting orange and red colour in the fall.