Identifying a edible plants and trees can at times be quite tricky. And other times, it's trivial. Take yesterday, for example. I was jogging through North Arlington when I noticed a Mom and her little ones noshing on the berries of a small tree. All it took was a few seconds of my time and a casual "what ya' eating?" to discover a new, delicious, wild edible. The Mom in question explained to me that they were Serviceberry's. I grabbed one off the tree a took a bite: wow, they were delicious!
I'd vaguely heard of serviceberrys, but it never occurred to me that they might be local to my area.
After exchanging a few other pleasantries, I continued on my run. About a minute later it hit me: you idiot, you should have snapped a few photos of this mysterious fruit bearing tree.
For the rest of my run, I kept my eye out for what I thought my be Serviceberry's and found at least two promising stands. Here's a photo of each of them:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIIWlEgvCdEXpRxjjPzddyVbWlMz9eKe6G6Ide44BhtRXwyk4QWDxgpmXFMnNtevJ8AEE1tpCGlICimocOOPLPhLHk289feKrtr3AjDaOXvWx8x6BFN_LjEzXzg8bzK8Qgdq2/s640/20170529_114249.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjydPuO6c6qF2-Kec3YWhQ0c4rQJeh0q3L417ZG86rBx0Csa4S9Doleq4juo69Pat0dIsOxL3nJ0ou2deXPUjOzO3ay-ypA95Z33DOzLwu1uHtrpWnIf0S0iTlQgxelysb2bGW7/s640/20170529_112824.jpg)
According to the Wild Edibles App, serviceberrys are relatively easy to identify because they have a 5 pointed crown at their base. Apparently there are no poisonous berries with this feature. Also, the Wild Edible's app only knows 'Juneberries' which are perhaps a more widely known name than Serviceberrys, but they are ultimately the same thing.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRf-jK5ogtNd36FhZXXet1VOz7iC0EDRzAPKBhh1x5QjZshrTNe7KH9RJwumVFDk6bduNNvedcgNwnS66CEvcXfyOCENClRUoPvw0eX6DzkUGX252OgqOfxY-LEdiMz7OKUOM/s400/Screenshot_2017-05-30-15-42-08.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YoeugEJrOet4yEjGWRjziT9Mr2t_09cZumgbJakdtmt4P-ZrAJgf5O07JlbB8vkgxaRO14YJewlUyjEFPl9Lcu7MTt5aqa7eC77p11X31Mk6_yUTAFqi7Es7pJcM4ox_0i9B/s400/Screenshot_2017-05-30-15-42-24.png)
It boggles my mind that I've run by these delicious berries dozens of times. They would be the perfect trail nibble, easily as tasty as raspberries or blueberries.
I'm sure there's a good reason why we don't find Servieberrys in the store. Maybe they are hard to cultivate on a large scale? Or maybe the berries don't stay fresh long enough for transport. All I know is, taste isn't the reason why.
Next time you pass a tree with berries take a closer look: do the berries have a 5 pointed crown? Then you may have just hit the jackpot. Take your time to fully identify the tree or bush, and then enjoy!
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