Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Saskatoon

Saskatoon is one of the shrubs that bloom early in the spring. Photographed at Sikome, Fish Creek Park, on 21 May 2012. "The Cree name for this plant is "mis-ask-quah-toomina," which early, white settlers shortened to "saskatoon". Saskatoon berries were the most important plant food used by the Blackfoot peoples of the prairies. The fruit was used in ceremonies and the plant had sacred significance. Summer camps were moved to good picking locations, and berries were collected, dried and used in making pemmican. Arrow shafts were made from the hard, straight-grained wood. Saskatoon was also used in many medicines. For example, the berries were used to treat liver trouble and as a laxative, and the inner bark or roots were a remedy for diarrhea. Saskatoon berries were so valuable to First Nations Peoples in historic times that they were used as a trade item. Saskatoon berries are sweet and delicious, whether eaten straight from the bush or in favourite recipes like saskatoon pie. The berries are an excellent source of Vitamin C, manganese, magnesium and iron, and a good source of calcium, potassium, copper and beta-carotene. The content of protein, fat, and fibre is higher in saskatoon berries than in other fruits because the edible seeds are eaten along with the berry." plantwatch.naturealberta.ca/plant-information/saskatoon

Photographed these Saskatoon flowers when I was on a walk west of Calgary, at Bow Valley Provincial Park, on 15 May 2010. It's a very common shrub here in the city, too. "Amelanchier alnifolia, the saskatoon, Pacific serviceberry, western serviceberry, alder-leaf shadbush, dwarf shadbush, chuckley pear, or western juneberry, is a shrub with edible berry-like fruit, native to North America from Alaska across most of western Canada and in the western and north central United States ..... The name "saskatoon" derives from the Cree inanimate noun misâskwatômina (misâskwatômin NI sg saskatoonberry, misâskwatômina NI pl saskatoonberries). The city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is named after the berry. Canadian growers are currently moving to position saskatoon berries as a superfruit, following the vogue for such fruits as wild blueberries, cranberries, pomegranates, and açaí." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelanchier_alnifolia A short distance south of Calgary, is the Saskatoon Farm, where they sell plants and also different food items, such as Saskatoon berry pie, that contain these berries. They also have a small restaurant where you can have lunch - I've had their quiche and hashbrowns, which are so good! You can also go and pick your own berries. "The saskatoon has long been a treasured wild fruit and a prairie tradition, having been a plentiful staple fruit for the prairies for years. It is often compared to the blueberry in terms of the berry's size, texture and flavor with an almondy flavor." www.saskatoonfarm.com/main.htm

We saw a number of Pine Grosbeaks on our three-hour walk at Votier's Flats yesterday morning. It was overcast, with a most unpleasant cold wind. I took a number of photos, but very few came out - there seemed to be a leaf right in front of the bird's face or a branch right across the bird in so many of the shots, ha. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pine_Grosbeak/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Grosbeak

I always love seeing Saskatoon berries at this stage, where the berries vary in colour. These were photographed in Weaselhead on 18 July 2012. Saskatoon berries are delicious, though perhaps not to everyone's taste. Not far from Calgary, there is the Saskatoon Farm, where they sell plants and also different food items, such as Saskatoon berry pie, that contain these berries. They also have a small restaurant where you can have lunch - I've had their quiche and hashbrowns, which are so good! You can also go and pick your own berries. "The saskatoon has long been a treasured wild fruit and a prairie tradition, having been a plentiful staple fruit for the prairies for years. It is often compared to the blueberry in terms of the berry's size, texture and flavor with an almondy flavor." www.saskatoonfarm.com/main.htm

LOL, I thought the title was appropriate, seeing as I didn't really get the berries in focus! Took this image in 2007 and never posted it because it was so blurry. Each time I came across it, though, there was something about the colours that I liked. Note ; don't worry, it's not your eyesight that's at fault, LOL! Oh, these are Saskatoon berries, by the way, seen down in Weaselhead.

Thank you, George, for finding this very interesting and quite amazing sight this morning, at Strathcona Ravines! These Saskatoon berries have Cedar apple rust on them, a type of fungus. I'm not sure that the word "beautiful" is the right word to use, but it is certainly strange. "Cedar apple rust, which is caused by the fungus Gymnosporangium, needs juniper plants and certain Rose family plants (such as saskatoons, hawthorns, and in some cases, apples) to complete its life cycle. On junipers, the disease appears as woody, spherical galls. In the spring (early May), brown, horn-like projections called "telia" grow out of the woody galls. During wet weather, the telia absorb water, swell up immensely, and become orange and gelatinous. At this stage the disease emits spores that infect the Rose family plants to cause the bright orange spots. The orange spots will eventually produce their own horn-like structures called "aecia" on the fruit and underside of the leaves; from the aecia, spores are produced that re-infect the junipers in the late summer. The disease must pass from junipers to Rose family plants to junipers again; it cannot spread between Rose family plants." From gardenline.usask.ca .