English
serviceberry
Scientific Name
Amelanchier alnifolia; possibly other Amelanchier spp
Arapaho
héyowúúwuno’Translation of the Arapaho
‘heavy berries’
Serviceberries and the Arapaho
Food: fruit; sauce. Toll 1914 reports that these berries were eaten. They are eaten today as well, and are handled much like chokecherries and plums - crushed, dried, and stored, then made into gravies or added to other dishes.
Bark: héyowuwúkoo’ ‘heavy berry bush’
Drug: unspecified. Toll identifies this as “sarvis bark,” and says that the leaves and bark were used for a tea. Arapahos today say the inner bark was scraped off, dried, and then boiled to make the tea.
