The Sunken Forest Tour: Juneberry

Juneberry goes by many names.

NPS/Sucena

Though the Sunken forest is made up of a wide range of tree species, from oaks to maples, pines and cedars, three of the most common species here make up a bulk of the canopy. 

 

The tree before you is commonly referred to by several names. Around here it often referred to as “Juneberry”, though you may also hear it identified as “Serviceberry”, “Shadblow”, “Shadbush”, or “Shadtree.” 

 

The first name, Juneberry, is likely the easiest to remember and to identify. “Juneberry” comes from the fact that its berries, quite tasty though containing large seeds, often appear and rippen throughout the month of June. 

 

The name “Shadblow” is often tied to a fish called shad which, like salmon in the pacific, travel from the ocean up rivers like the Hudson in order to lay their eggs. Fishermen would use the appearance of flowers on “Shadblow” in early spring to know when the shad run had begun. 

 

The last name “Serviceberry” is among the more interesting names for this tree. Various accounts suggest that the appearance of its flowers in the early spring are often associated with the thawing of winter ice in the ground. This is important, especially up north, when ground ice can prevent the digging of holes. As a result of this tree's timing, it is often planted in front of funeral homes and in graveyards to help indicate the time of year when thawing ground ice allowed for the digging of graves and hosting of funeral “services”. This, of course, is just one of several stories associated with the name “serviceberry.”. 

 

You may notice the odd little holes in this tree. These holes were created by a small woodpecker called a “yellow-bellied sapsucker.” Sapsuckers, as their name implies, poke holes into the side of trees in order to drink their sap.