What is the book The Serviceberry about?
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world. The Serviceberry is an essay initially published in Emergence Magazine. This 128-page book and 1H 56M audiobook explores an alternate idea from long ago that inspires an intentional act of sharing with our neighbors and community. Kimmerer is also the New York Times bestselling author of Braided Sweetgrass.The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a slim, powerful book that uses a simple fruit to explore big ideas about economy, ecology, and community. As I read, I found echoes of these ideas in my own life—especially as a new mother navigating networks of care and reciprocity.As Indigenous scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most?
What is the theme of The Serviceberry?
The true theme of this book is reciprocity and the gift economy. Kimmerer contrasts what plants, like the serviceberry, can do for us: they take the energy of the sun and transform it into berries which they give to the world freely, thereby supporting and participating in ecosystems. Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.Amelanchier (/æməˈlænʃɪər/ am-ə-LAN-sheer), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear, is a genus of about 20 species of deciduous-leaved shrubs and small trees in the rose family (Rosaceae).The Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp. North American trees, prized for its resilience, beauty, and ecological value. But most of all, it is prized for its delicious berries, which ripen later in the spring or early summer. The Serviceberry has many names.
Is serviceberry good?
They taste like a nutty blueberry and are excellent in jams, pies, and even smoothies. In fact, serviceberries are among the few native fruits in North America that are both edible and delicious, making them a sought-after treat for foragers and home gardeners alike. Serviceberries are small, rounded, purple-black, edible and sweet. The berries have a pleasing, unique flavor and are high in iron and copper. Serviceberries can be eaten raw, cooked in puddings, pies and muffins, or used in combination with other berries as an extender.In addition to being delicious, serviceberries are nutritious—high in iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium, and full of fiber. Serviceberries are a delight in the kitchen, once you get past the seeds. I usually cook the pulp and then run it through a food mill to remove the seeds.Serviceberries have a moderate growth rate, typically 8 to 24 inches per year. Their size depends on the species or cultivar, and can range from a shrub as short as 4 feet to a tree of 25 feet high and wide, or more.The fragrant flowers on Serviceberries are “perfect” in that they have both male and female reproductive parts. That means only one tree is needed for fruit production, although two or more may result in a higher yield.
What is the disease in The Serviceberry?
Serviceberry is susceptible to several types of rust diseases. Symptoms appear as brightly colored yellow-orange lesions on the leaves. When infection is heavy, some defoliation can occur. Management can be achieved by maintaining plant vigor using sound cultural practices. Serviceberry is known as a calendar plant, so faithful is it to seasonal weather patterns. Its bloom is a sign that the ground has thawed and that the shad are running upstream—or at least it was back in the day, when rivers were clear and free enough to support their spawning.Also called shadblow, shadbush, juneberry and saskatoon in different areas of the country, there are several different species that occur over most parts of the United States.So the tree became known as the ‘serviceberry tree. Another story is that for thousands of years along the Hudson River Valley, the bloom time of the tree coincided with the massive spring shad fish run up the river to spawn. So the tree was called the ‘shadbush’ or ‘shadblow.