PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Juneberry is just one of the common names for a beautiful little native tree you don’t see often enough, the Amelanchier. Also known as ‘Serviceberry,’ or ‘Shadbush,’ because it blooms when the shad run in spring, and Juneberry since that’s when its juicy pinky-blue berries ripen. You have to hurry to gobble them because the birds and other cute critters in your yard know how yummy they are. A very American plant, the first settlers depended on it for jams, and you can mix Juneberries with other fruit since the pectin in them helps jellies to set.
Amelanchier are small trees, which makes them perfect for a front yard, even under power lines, and makes it easier for you to reach their fruit. With lovely little flowers in spring and free fruit in the summer, planting a native Amelanchier tree in your yard is both a very pretty and very patriotic thing to do.
Reported By Phran Novelli, KYW Newsradio