Sarvisberry: A Native Berry for Soups and Pudding
Amelanchier alnifolia (Nutt.) Nutt. ex M. Roem
Image retrieved under Creative Commons licensure from HERE.
It has been a while since our friend, Jennie Birgitta, sent a message from her Montana homestead asking if we could find any information on what to do with Sarvisberries. Having never heard of this berry before in my life, the excitement of discovery ushered me toward a dimly lit path through the gnarled wood.
What monsters thar be in the wooden tangles of the wild?
Why does my inner voice sound like a cartoon pirate?
These are important questions.
Months later, on the eve of a new year, I came across the skeleton of hours of research languishing in my botanical coffers on the sarvisberry. My research slumped forward… I shrieked, “Jennie, I’m sorry I forgot about you!”
Gathering my damaged manhood, I powered forth. As I heroically pulled the spiderwebs from the notes with my bare hands, a story emerged.
On our last adventure of the year—mere hours before a new decade begins—we explore the story of a berry tree that is strong enough to withstand the punishing cold of Alaska and Canada. It is a tree of esoteric value, as you will not find its fruit waiting in plastic clamshells at the local grocery store. To find the sarvisberry, you will need to go on a quest through the wilds… or some smartly landscaped property.
Welcome, one and all, to a fantastic new year. Welcome to the berry soup and berry-puddin’-makin' world of Amelanchier alnifolia:
The Sarvisberry!
Family — Rosaceae
Family Characteristics —
Aliases — Western Serviceberry, Juneberry, Sarvis, Sarvisberry, Saskatoon, Saskatoon berry, Saskatoon Serviceberry, Shadberry, Real Berry Bush {BLACKFOOT);
Binomial Etymology— Amelanchier is a common name in OLD FRENCH (Savoy region) for the medlar [1]. aln- is derived from LATIN and refers to the “alder,” while -folia is a LATIN term for “leaf” [2]. The binomial, therefore, may be referring to a medlar with alder-like leaves.
Binomial Pronunciation: — am-e-LANG-kee-er al-ni-FO-le-ah
USDA Native Status — Native in the lower 48 and Alaska
Introduction
Sarvisberry Description
Depending on how happy it is, Amelanchier alnifolia can appear as a deciduous shrub or up to a 30ft (9m) tall tree. Its up 5 cm (2 in) long leaves are alternate/simple and can be fractionally serrated (2 to 20 teeth per leaf) with a fuzzy underside when young that becomes hairless and smooth with age. The small, fragrant and white flowers occur in erect racemes of 5-20 individual flowers. These flowers bear 1.5 cm (.6 in) diameter spherical purple berries [6].
Sarvisberry Habitat
Hardly one to cry about the cold, the Sarvisberry grows naked and native all the way up to Alaska and enjoys moist thickets along rivers all the way down into Colorado [6].
Image retrieved under Creative Commons licensure from HERE.
Culinary Uses of Sarvisberry
A native to Canada, Alaska, and the Lower 48 States of America, this berry-yeilding shrub seems to be universally known as a food among Native Americans wherever the plant was found; the berries were utilized both dried and fresh in various preparations [3].
To the BLACKFOOT, the sarvisberry played an important culinary role in nearly all ceremonial events (opening medicine pipe, or transferring ownership of a tipi design for examples) as a berry soup composed of unspecified roots, fat, and water [4]. I did some digging and found the actual recipe on a fantastic Saokio Heritage site. These recipes, archived by ABAKI BECK and ROSALYN R. LAPIER, can be found by clicking on the phrase: Blackfeet Berry Soup. Please share your experience in the comments below if you try these preparations… even if you substitute blueberries! In addition to berry soup, the BLACKFOOT would makes berry sausages, and dry a saris leaf and blood mixture for making a rich broth in the winter [4],
The CHEYANNE would use crushed berries to improved the appetite of children, and would also make a berry pudding. The leaves were also used to make a red tea [3].
The KLAMATH chewed on Sarvis seeds for fun [3].
The MONTANA would make Sarvis berry wine, jam, jelly, and pie [3].
The OKANAGAN pressed and dried the berries into cakes [3].
Image retrieved in the Public Domain from HERE.
Pharmacological Ethnobotany of Sarvisberry
Native American Tribes
Among the BLACKFOOT, the juice of Sarvisberry—both derived from fresh berries and water-reconstituted ones—were used as eardrops and eyedrops. When the juice was dripped into the eye, it was covered over with a piece of hide. The juice was also used as a mild laxative and to relieve an queasy stomach [4].
The CREE would use a decoction of stems to combat colds, and a decoction of saris root to treat chest pains, lung infections, and teething sickness [3].
The OKANAGAN (like the CREE), utilized a decoction of branches to combat colds, but expanded the use of this elixir as a general tonic [3].
Sarvisberry in Literature
“Through the scorched prairie land, bordered by pleasant woods of pine and quaking asp and silver poplar, rushed a cold, deep river green with the liquid emerald of virginal purity, flashing white now and again around a hindering stone and rippling in elfin glee over the mosaic of pebbles in its bed. Here was delicious, cool shadow; here was drink, —ah! the magic of the word! —and here also were masses of sarvisberry bushes, purple with luscious, ripe fruit.”
Helen Fitzgerald Sanders from The White Quiver (1913) [5]
