Service tree

In times gone by, the service tree was considered sacred and believed to chase away evil spirits and bring luck to lovers. Picked straight from the tree, its pear-shaped fruit is highly astringent and gritty and is commonly used in a decoction for its fortifying and venotonic properties. The tree’s very dense wood is prized by carpenters and cabinetmakers and the buds are very popular in gemmotherapy (a form of herbal medicine using buds and other embryonic plant tissue).