Herb: Apple Serviceberry


Latin name: Amelanchier lamarckii


Synonyms: Amelanchier botryapium, Amelanchier canadensis, Amelanchier grandiflora, Crataegus racemosa


Family: Rosaceae (Rose Family)



Edible parts of Apple Serviceberry:

Edible fruit - raw or cooked. Sweet and succulent with a flavour of apples, they can also be dried for later use. This is one of the nicest fruits in the genus, they can be eaten and enjoyed in quantity. The fruit is rich in iron and copper. It is up to 10mm in diameter.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
6 m
(20 feet)

Flowering:
April

Habitat of the herb:

Possibly no longer found in its original wild habitat, it is naturalized in S. England on sandy heaths and damp acid woods.

Propagation of Apple Serviceberry:

Seed - it is best harvested "green", when the seed is fully formed but before the seed coat has hardened, and then sown immediately in pots outdoors or in a cold frame. If stored seed is obtained early enough in the autumn, it can be given 4 weeks warm stratification before being left out in the winter and it should then germinate in the spring. Otherwise seed can be very slow to germinate, perhaps taking 18 months or more. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a sheltered outdoor position, planting them out once they are 20cm or more tall. If there is sufficient seed it is best to sow it thinly in an outdoor seedbed. Grow the seedlings on for two years in the seedbed before planting them out into their permanent positions during the winter. Layering in spring - takes 18 months. Division of suckers in late winter. The suckers need to have been growing for 2 years before you dig them up, otherwise they will not have formed roots. They can be planted out straight into their permanent positions if required.

Cultivation of the herb:

Possibly no longer found in its original wild habitat, it is naturalized in S. England on sandy heaths and damp acid woods.

Medicinal use of Apple Serviceberry:

None known

Known hazards of Amelanchier lamarckii:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.