I grew up with these as a kid in North Dakota. We just thought we must have lived righteous and good lives because they grew in every coulee and draw nearby. Plus in the winter there were always rabbits in the "juneberry bushes"! Yup, if only I had known I could make bows and arrows from those selfsame shrubs! *sigh* Life woulda been perfect.
For those of you that have never had juneberry, service berry, sarvis berry, saskatoons, or Amelanchier alnifolia , they are much like a blueberry that grows in large bunches on shrubs/trees. They are pitless, unlike their cousin, the chokecherry, but will still stain your teeth/clothes.
My favorite way of eating these little bits of blue heaven is in a bowl with a little heavy cream.
We have them in the Black Hills, but they only grow a foot tall, have just a half dozen leaves and only every 5th plant has a berry on it and they often don't ripen. Major bummer, man.
