Whole Specimen of Amelanchier Alnifolia
1 media/Amelanchier Alnifolia final_thumb.jpg 2022-03-02T11:37:07-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b 40021 6 The Amelanchier alnifolia specimen on record at the UCLA Herbarium was collected by W. J. Cody in situ on June 27, 1949 with the help of additional collector J.B. McCanse. It was identified in the Yellowknife region of the Mackenzie District in the Northwest territories of Canada. plain 2022-03-07T12:58:18-08:00 20211014 132027 UCLA Herbarium - funded by the National Science Foundation award number 1802199 20211014 132027 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62bThis page has annotations:
- 1 2022-03-04T19:48:12-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b Bark and woody primary growth Anna Jovin 4 plain 2022-03-04T19:57:37-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b
- 1 2022-03-04T19:44:26-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b Serrated leaf edges. Anna Jovin 4 plain 2022-03-08T20:02:45-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b
- 1 2022-03-04T19:39:17-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b Small twigs of A. alnifolia. Anna Jovin 3 plain 2022-03-04T19:48:15-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b
- 1 2022-03-04T19:45:14-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b Alternating branch structure Anna Jovin 3 plain 2022-03-04T19:56:59-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b
- 1 2022-03-04T19:46:32-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b Broken base at main branch of A. alnifolia. Anna Jovin 3 plain 2022-03-04T19:48:15-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b
- 1 2022-03-04T19:37:56-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b Flowers of A. alnifolia. Anna Jovin 2 plain 2022-03-04T19:38:40-08:00 Anna Jovin 1322c3d9ab970731a2a5376a43b7e0b48568c62b
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Amelanchier alnifolia: Native uses and Neocolonial Pharmaceutical Potential
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Amelanchier alnifolia, known alternatively as the saskatoon, serviceberry, or juneberry, is a deciduous-leaved shrub that grows in temperate forests of Western North America and possesses an extensive horticultural and medicinal tradition. A. alnifolia is well-represented in colonial textual sources, praised by Western-bound settlers and horticulturalists alike for its appearance with little regard to traditional Native uses. Cross-analysis of these historical texts with herbarium records, first-hand observations of the plant in-situ, and culturally-informed Indigenous accounts yield a powerful framework to situate a modern understanding of A. alnifolia’s morphology and medicinal properties, including matters of species utility and accessibility. While disparate components of A. alnifolia may possess tremendous economic and pharmaceutical potential, Western biomedical researchers and agricultural operations are ethically bound to respect Indigenous concepts of sovereignty and resource management through collaboration, mutual exchange, and sustainable harvesting.
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Three Sources of Investigation
The UCLA Herbarium, site to roughly 200,000 preserved floral specimens from North America, Europe, and California, presents one fundamental source of knowledge regarding the type morphology of Amelanchier alnifolia. The specimen on record at the UCLA Herbarium was collected by W. J. Cody in situ near Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada on June 27, 1949, with the help of an additional collector J.B. McCanse. These collectors recorded little information regarding the material conditions present in and around the source plant, however some information may nevertheless be gleamed from the specimen label. The host plant of the preserved clipping was identified in humus-rich soil at the water's edge, relatively rare in its local ecology. Visually, the specimen consists of a branch cutting from a larger specimen, measuring approximately 45 centimeters and possessing multiple, slender sub-branches with leaves and flowers. Leaves are a dark green and ovate in shape, with a noticeable central midrib and sharp serrations beginning from the midline. At the apex of several terminal branches grow clusters of delicate yellow-dried flowers with five petals and intricate venation.
The second collection examined was a digital collection of historical documents dated from the turn of the 19th century, situating Amelanchier alnifolia in the Materia Medica. A related specimen of the same genus, Amelanchier canadensis, was identified from the POWO herbarium database. This specimen was presented by Dr. Hoover in February of 1868 and is housed at the Royal Botanic Gardens. The specimen label in the lower right image of the recorded image signifies important metadata like, the collector, a ruler for measuring, the date, and species identified. This specimen is a smaller bunch of leaves than the Amelanchier specimen housed at UCLA herbarium, but contains many of the same hallmarks such as mature, green, and ovate-shaped leaves and yellow flowers growing at the apex of thin branches. However, the recorded metadata of this specimen is far less robust than the UCLA Herbarium classification, likely a product of the laxer consideration of context given that this specimen was recorded 154 years prior. Another historical documentation of A. alnifolia comes from a 1896 encyclopedia and field guide of the native silva of North America compiled by the American botanist Charles Sprague Sargent. In this treatise, Sargent provides a brief overview of the morphology and observed uses of A. alnifolia, and enlisted the engraver Charles Edward Faxon to produce a representative botanical illustration. Faxon depicts the plant from various angles and times of year, including a flowering and fruiting branch alongside a dormant winter branch, an impossible combination meant to aid naturalists year-round. Curiously, Sargent spends a significant amount of space to describe the established ornamental and woodworking purposes of the plant (signifying that it had been fairly familiar to Americans by the turn of the century), while devoting only one sentence to how the Indigenous peoples of North America interacted with it.A tertiary resource explored was the UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Gardens, where a living specimen of a related species, Rhaphiolepis umbellata, could be observed to find common distinguishing features across the family Rosaceae. This set documented the growth habit and ecological relationships surrounding a plant within the same family (Rosaceae), Raphiolepis umbellata. This species, unlike Amelanchier alnifolia, is native to the Old World, with a range throughout Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The cultivated specimen is roughly 5 feet in height and 2-3 feet in width, growing as a dense thicket of wooden branches and deciduous leaves. R. umbellata is morphologically similar to A. alnifolia in several regards: both species share similar leaf size, growth distribution, and overall shape; flowers on R. umbellata are white and cup-shaped (likely the same as a fresh specimen of A. alnifolia); and both plants produce morphologically similar indigo berries. The Rhaphiolepis umbellata ‘Minor’ specimen found in the CCH2 data portal was collected by L. Haines on April 21th, 1950. It is located near the amphitheater in the UCLA Botanical Garden in Los Angeles, California.
Medical Practice and Bioprospecting
A majority of modern research into A. alnifolia focuses on the nutrient content and possible metabolic activity of its berries, which have been touted as a “superfood” by celebrities and various nutraceutical companies. Serviceberries have long been used by settler-colonists in a culinary context in the form of preserves, pastries, and various brewed beverages, but new research highlights their free radical scavenging ability and high mineral content. Several compounds extracted from the berries of A. alnifolia belong to the larger family of polyphenols implicated in lipid regulation and storage, including anthocyanins, catechins, and tocopherols (Vitamin E). Most advertisers of the saskatoon elevate its supposedly miraculous weight-loss properties while ignoring its far more storied history in Indigenous communities across North America, each of which developed unique relationships to A. alnifolia. The dried berries of this plant were a staple component in Northern plains diets in the production of pemmican, a non-perishable blend of dried meats, carbs, and foraged fruits that helped populations weather out times of winter scarcity. Across tribes of the Pacific Northwest, the Great Plains, and the subarctic, A. alnifolia has been used as a key ingredient in tonics meant to alleviate symptoms of viral respiratory infections, aid in childbirth, and as a curative laxative. Both the plant leaves and bark were utilized to meet these ends; for example, thin strips of bark were boiled as part of a “10-bark medicine” for treatment of tuberculosis, venereal disease, and stomach ulcers. Bark-based medicine in particular sometimes carried a spiritual aspect as well: according to two elder women of the Coast Salish tribe explain, as the cut from which bark was taken began to callous and heal, patients in turn were expected to begin their recovery. Use of these natural medicines required adherence to a strict code of collection, requiring a specific confluence of natural conditions, seasonality, and regalia to achieve effect.
Some biomedical researchers have investigated the therapeutic potential of Amelanchier alnifolia, observing moderate effects in vitro. While these findings should not overshadow the living Indigenous history involving this plant, their implications for new forms of curative medicine cannot be ignored. Methanolic extracts of axial branches were shown to possess highly active antiviral properties against enteric coronaviruses (such as the common cold) by McCrutcheon et al (1995), suggesting their potential for prophylactic or antiviral therapeutics.
Citations- Abe, Tetsuto, and Michio Matsunaga. 2011. “Geographic Variation in Germination Traits in Melia Azedarach and Rhaphiolepis Umbellata.” American Journal of Plant Sciences 02 (01): 52–55. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2011.21007.
- Curtis, Edward. n.d. “Ethnobotany and Native Plant Production,” 9.
- Gottesfeld, Leslie M. Johnson. 1992. “The Importance of Bark Products in the Aboriginal Economies of Northwestern British Columbia, Canada.” Economic Botany 46 (2): 148–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02930629.
- Lavola, Anu, Reijo Karjalainen, and Riitta Julkunen-Tiitto. 2012. “Bioactive Polyphenols in Leaves, Stems, and Berries of Saskatoon (Amelanchier Alnifolia Nutt.) Cultivars.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 60 (4): 1020–27. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf204056s.
- McCutcheon, A. R., T. E. Roberts, E. Gibbons, S. M. Ellis, L. A. Babiuk, R. E. W. Hancock, and G. H. N. Towers. 1995. “Antiviral Screening of British Columbian Medicinal Plants.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 49 (2): 101–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-8741(95)90037-3.
- Ozga, Jocelyn A, Asma Saeed, and Dennis M Reinecke. 2006. “Anthocyanins and Nutrient Components of Saskatoon Fruits ( Amelanchier Alnifolia Nutt.).” Canadian Journal of Plant Science 86 (1): 193–97. https://doi.org/10.4141/P05-139.
- Rus Jacquet, Aurélie de, Mitali Arun Tambe, Sin Ying Ma, George P. McCabe, Jay Hansford C. Vest, and Jean-Christophe Rochet. 2017. “Pikuni-Blackfeet Traditional Medicine: Neuroprotective Activities of Medicinal Plants Used to Treat Parkinson’s Disease-Related Symptoms.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 206 (July): 393–407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2017.01.001.
- Turner, Nancy J. 2001. “‘Doing It Right’: Issues and Practices of Sustainable Harvesting of Non-Timber Forest Products Relating to First Peoples in British Columbia.” Journal of Ecosystems and Management, December. https://jem-online.org/forrex/index.php/jem/article/view/215.
- Turner, Nancy J., and Richard J. Hebda. 1990. “Contemporary Use of Bark for Medicine by Two Salishan Native Elders of Southeast Vancouver Island, Canada.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 29 (1): 59–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-8741(90)90098-E.
- Uprety, Yadav, Hugo Asselin, Archana Dhakal, and Nancy Julien. 2012. “Traditional Use of Medicinal Plants in the Boreal Forest of Canada: Review and Perspectives.” Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 8 (January): 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-8-7.
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Tea Time: Exploring the Medicinal Properties of Bark-Use Plants from a Traditional Ecological Knowledge Context
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This page discusses three different plants that contain significant medicinal properties in their bark and have been historically used by indigenous communities throughout North America: Populus tremuloides, Frangula californica subsp. californica, and Amelanchier alnifolia. These species will be compared on a global scale by examining the bark-based applications of two related species from Africa and East Asia: Dovyalis caffra and Rhaphiolepis umbellata. Despite their phenotypic differences and the differences in their medicinal properties, all five of these plants have been used to help relieve symptoms of communicable and chronic diseases through the direct digestion of tea like remedies made from the boiled bark of these plants. -By Saja Zidan, Maha Ulhaq, Kate Santoso, Gillian, Miller, Anna Jovin, and Luc Lorain
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Three prominent North American plants to discuss in the context of their medicinal bark use are Populus tremuloides, Frangula californica subsp. Californica, and Amelanchier alnifolia. In addition, the South African native Dovyalis caffra and the Chinese native Rhaphiolepis umbellata can also be discussed in relation to these North American trees, revealing fascinating histories of neocolonial cooption, commercial exploitation, and indigenous erasure over the past several centuries of European hegemony.
Populus tremuloides, otherwise known as the quaking aspen, is part of the Salicaceae family and is native across much of the North American continent. P. tremuloides can be found across Canada and the United States in states as diverse as New Mexico and New York. This deciduous tree has a long trunk with smooth bark and fluffy catkins that grow from the branches. During the fall, the wide sage leaves may appear orange or yellow before being shed. However, the bark of Populus tremuloides has historically been used for its medicinal properties, as the bark contains salicylates, a property used to create aspirin. Indigenous communities like the Apache, the Blackfoot tribe, and the Navajo tribe rely on the bark of this plant to relieve pain from menstrual cramps, combat digestive issues, treat coughs, fevers, and even arthritis. The bark has further been used for its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic medicinal properties, mainly in treating wounds and respiratory disorders when used externally rather than consumed (Simpson 2010, 55).
Another tree found at the UCLA Botanical garden within the family Salicaceae, Dovyalis caffra or the Kei Apple tree, could be analyzed in its stead. Despite being part of the same family, Dovyalis caffra has many phenotypic differences from Populus tremuloides. For instance, D. caffra has much brighter and narrow green leaves with yellow flowers, is native to South Africa and is much shorter than the tall Populus tremuloides trees in the northern hemisphere. Despite their clear morphological differences, both Populus tremuloides and Dovyalis caffra contain a class of chemicals known as salicylates, a naturally-occurring pain reliever and chemical precursor to modern-day aspirin. When boiled into a tea and ingested, bark from both plants may be used to treat pain from illnesses like rheumatism (Anderton 2011, 4).
Another plant that has been used by indigenous communities for the medicinal properties it serves is Frangula californica subsp. Californica. Frangula californica subsp. Californica also known as the coffeeberry, is an evergreen or semi-deciduous shrub in the buckthorn family that is native to California and can be found in other regions of Western America. This plant can be identified from its small, dark green leaves that range from ¼ - 3 inches in length and the presence of blooming coffee berries in the summertime. As a shrub, the plant ranges in height from 3 to 12 feet. The blooming season begins with small white/green flowers and gradually evolves into small clusters of berries that become deeper in purple hue over the summer. Indigenous tribes of California have been utilizing this plant for centuries, including the Ohlone, Chumash, and Kumeyaay tribes who celebrated and made use of the specie’s healing properties. Indigenous Californian tribes dried the inner bark of Frangula californica subsp. Californica and ground it up to create a tea that's served as a treatment for constipation due to its “purgative effect”, as well as a kidney remedy and influenza treatment as a result of proven antimicrobial properties.
Finally, the serviceberry bush, Amelanchier alnifolia, is a case study in Indigenous cultural erasure for the benefit of Western aesthetics. Classified as a member of the family Rosaceae family and Amelanchier genus, this shrub consists of leaves that are a dark green and ovate in shape with serrated leaf margins. Clusters of radially symmetrical, 5-petaled white flowers grow on racemes that emerge from the terminal branches. This species is commonly found in temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere from eastern Alaska through most of Western Canada and as far south as Oregon and South Dakota, across a wide range of altitudes and soil types.
Due to its expansive range, Amelanchier alnifolia is integrated into the ethnobotanical practices of many Indigenous groups across the Pacific Northwest, the Great Plains, and Canada. The Blackfoot Native America tribe used this shrub for food due to the berries it produces and for its medicinal properties. It has been used for appetite restoration, as a laxative, in the treatment of upset stomachs, for treatment of colds, to treat chest and lung infections, and to induce a fever to restore one back to good health. According to McCutcheon, decoctions of saskatoon bark were commonly employed by “traditionally used to treat respiratory ailments such as colds and coughs, as well as diarrhea, influenza and smallpox” (McCutcheon et al, 1995, 106).
Rhaphiolepis umbellata is a fellow member of the family Rosaceae, sharing many morphological similarities to Amelanchier alnifolia with a vastly different native distribution. Commonly found in subtropical forest regions of East Asia, encompassing vast swaths of China, South Korea, and the Japanese archipelago (Abe and Matsunaga, 2011). Similarly to A. alnifolia, R. umbellata is a dense woodland shrub with glabrous branches and ovate green leaves; unlike its relative, however, this species is incapable of taking on a tree-like growth habit and is evergreen rather than deciduous. Flowers of both species are similar and typical of the family Rosaceae: 5-petaled, white, with a cup-shaped calyx and spirally arranged stamen. This species has attracted significant attention in the 20th century as a low-maintenance ornamental plant in urban landscaping projects across much of the Northern hemisphere. Similarly to Amelanchier alnifolia, R. umbellata has been extensively investigated for the presence of flavonol glucosides sourced from bark-based concoctions, which hold potentially cytoprotective benefits when consumed (Nonaka et al, 1983).
All of these plants that share medicinal properties in their bark that can be consumed through tea are unfortunately subject to modern commodification that threatens to rewrite Indigenous history in the name of commercial interests: for instance, monocrop farming of biomedically-valued tree species involves the elimination of less profitable local species, thus limiting access to these plants as sources of food, raw materials, and medicine (Turner, 2001). In order to protect Indigenous cultural sovereignty, further research and harvesting operations involving traditionally-utilized plants, including all species examined above, must be performed in collaboration with tribal leaders in accordance to community needs and values, creating a coproductive and mutualistic future for all parties involved.
WORKS CITED
Abe, Tetsuto, and Michio Matsunaga. 2011. “Geographic Variation in Germination Traits in Melia Azedarach and Rhaphiolepis Umbellata.” American Journal of Plant Sciences 02 (01): 52–55. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2011.21007.Anderton, Laurel. 2011. “Native American Uses of Native Utah Forest Trees.” Digital Commons, 2211.Dyrness, C. T.; Acker, S. A. (2010). "Ecology of Common Understory Plants in Northwestern Oregon and Southwestern Washington Forests." H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, Oregon State University.Forlines, David R., Terri Tavenner, Johannes C. S. Malan, and Joseph J. Karchesy. 1992. “Plants of the Olympic Coastal Forests: Ancient Knowledge of Materials and Medicines and Future Heritage.” In Plant Polyphenols: Synthesis, Properties, Significance, edited by Richard W. Hemingway and Peter E. Laks, 767–82. Basic Life Sciences. Boston, MA: Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3476-1_46.McCutcheon, A. R., T. E. Roberts, E. Gibbons, S. M. Ellis, L. A. Babiuk, R. E. W. Hancock, and G. H. N. Towers. 1995. “Antiviral Screening of British Columbian Medicinal Plants.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 49 (2): 101–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-8741(95)90037-3.Sargent, Charles Sprague. 1892. The Silva of North America :A Description of the Trees Which Grow Naturally in North America Exclusive of Mexico. Vol. v.4 (1892). Boston,: Houghton, Mifflin and company,. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/52477.Simpson, Michael. 2010.Salicaceae.Science Direct, 02260.