Prunus virginiana, commonly called bitter-berry, chokecherry, The leaves are oval, long and wide, with a serrated margin. The stems rarely exceed in length.

The flowers are produced in racemes long in late spring (well after leaf emergence), eventually growing up to 15 cm.

The fruits (drupes) are about in diameter, range in color from bright red to black, and possess a very astringent taste, being both somewhat sour and somewhat bitter. They get darker and marginally sweeter as they ripen.

Taxonomy

The name chokecherry is also used for the related Manchurian cherry or Amur chokecherry (Prunus maackii).

Varieties

  • Prunus virginiana var. virginiana (eastern chokecherry)
  • Prunus virginiana var. demissa <small>(Nutt. ex Torr. & A.Gray) Torr.</small> (western chokecherry)
  • Prunus virginiana var. melanocarpa <small>(A.Nelson) Sarg.

Ecology

The wild chokecherry is often considered a pest, as it is a host for the tent caterpillar, a threat to other fruit plants. It is also a larval host to the black-waved flannel moth, the blinded sphinx, the cecropia moth, the coral hairstreak, the cynthia moth, the elm sphinx, Glover's silkmoth, the hummingbird clearwing moth, the imperial moth, the Io moth, the polyphemus moth, the promethea moth, the red-spotted purple, the small-eyed sphinx, the spring azure, the striped hairstreak, the tiger swallowtail, the twin-spotted sphinx, and Weidemeyer's admiral.

Many wildlife, including birds and game animals, eat the berries. 'Goertz' has a nonastringent, so palatable, fruit. Research at the University of Saskatchewan seeks to find or create new cultivars to increase production and processing.

Toxicity

The stone of the fruit is poisonous. Chokecherry, including the foliage, is toxic The inner bark of the chokecherry, as well as red osier dogwood, or alder, is also used by some tribes in ceremonial smoking mixtures, known as kinnikinnick. The chokecherry fruit can be eaten when fully ripe, but otherwise contains a toxin. The fruit can be used to make jam or syrup, but the bitter nature of the fruit requires sugar to sweeten the preserves. The Plains Indians pound up the whole fruits—including the pits—in a mortar, from which they made sun-baked cakes.

Chokecherry is also used to make wine

In culture

In 2007, North Dakota governor John Hoeven signed a bill naming the chokecherry the state's official fruit, in part because its remains have been found at more archaeological sites in the Dakotas than anywhere else.

The book Hatchet features its main character Brian Robeson eating them and then experiencing stomach pain, calling them "gut cherries".

See also

  • Choke pear

References

  • North Dakota State University Agriculture, Chokecherry
  • Nutrition Facts for Chokecherries
  • Flora of Pennsylvania