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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: dandelion on July 06, 2007, 17:06:40
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I have an Amelanchier canadensis shrub in my garden. I'd heard somewhere that the berries are edible so I tried a few. They are delicious! Does anyone else grow and eat Amelanchier berries? Which species gives the best crop?
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Now that's something I didn't know. There seems to be no end to the advantages of amelanchier. Really worth its weight in gold.
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Yes, one of my favourites, too. Just had a look and the berries on mine have all gone- guess the birds find them tasty too! Noticed the leaves are going brown on the edges- wonder if it's due to the wet- it's in a pot until I find a space for it in the garden, having moved it for a water feature last summer.
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I knew the Snowy Mespilus (aka Amelanchier Lamarkii, aka June Berry) had edible berries so I wonder if all the species are munchable?
Oh, and you're right, Caroline, it'e an absolute favourite snack for birds!
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Every year I have a blackbird take posession of my tree and it eats most of the berries as soon as they ripen. I usually get a nibble but never enough to harvest.
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Usually the bullfinches have most of the buds off ours before they even open, so we`ve never had many berries before. However this year the bullfinches have been coming to the bird table for the sunflower kernels, and left the Amelanchier alone, and we have a most glorious show of red berries. Unfortunately most of them are over 20 ft above ground, so we just admire them.
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We have a cat, so that's why the birds left the berries alone ;). I munched most of them in June, when they were red, but noticed yesterday that I had left a few, which had turned dark purple. These were absolutely delicious, similar to blueberries.
Found some info on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelanchier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelanchier)
The two species most commonly eaten appear to be Amelanchier alinifolia and Amelanchier canadensis.
It's fascinating to discover how many edibles are lurking in the garden; I nibbled a Hemerocallis petal last night ;D after seeing it on TV in the programme on the Hampton Court Show.
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I didn't know they were edible. I have a small tree and just before they ripen fully warfare breaks out between all the local blackbirds. This year a wood pigeon tried to sit on the end of a branch and nearly broke the tree as it crashed to the ground.
I tried to net it the first year i lived here because I wanted to see the berries ripe. However the blackbirds were too determined and got under the net and I didn't want to kill or injure blackbirds so I removed the net again. They must taste better to them than any other fruit to the blackbirds.