Service tree

In times gone by, the service tree was considered sacred and believed to chase away evil spirits and bring luck to lovers. The tree’s very dense wood is prized by carpenters and cabinetmakers while the buds are very popular in gemmotherapy (a form of medicine using buds). Endemic to southern Europe, the service tree produces fruit. In springtime, it blooms with white flowers, attracting a wide variety of pollinators which help the service tree to reproduce. The following autumn, the service tree produces the serviceberry. This fruit resembles small red and yellow pears, and the name Pyrus sorbus comes from their pear-like shape. They are edible only when very ripe and almost spoiled. Partial to the serviceberry, small forest mammals consume the fallen fruit, scattering the seeds in the process.