Common Chokecherry
by Mim White
Title
Common Chokecherry
Artist
Mim White
Medium
Photograph
Description
Chokecherry, bitter-berry, or Virginia bird cherry, this small tree is native to North America, where it is found almost throughout the continent except for the Deep South and the far north.
It is a suckering shrub or small tree growing to 5 m tall. The leaves are oval, 3–10 cm long, with a coarsely serrated margin. The flowers are produced in racemes of 15-30 in late spring (well after leaf emergence). The fruit are about 1 cm diameter, range in color from bright red to black, with a very astringent, sour taste. The very ripe berries are dark in color and less astringent than the red berries.
The chokeberries, genus Aronia, are often mistakenly called chokecherries. This naming confusion is easy to understand considering there is a cultivar of the chokecherry Prunus virginiana 'Melanocarpa' and a species of chokeberry named Aronia melanocarpa. In fact, the two plants are not close relatives within their subfamily Spiraeoideae.
Chokecherries are very high in antioxidant pigment compounds, such as anthocyanins. They share this property with chokeberries, further contributing to confusion. The wild chokecherry is often considered a pest, as it is a host for the tent caterpillar, a threat to other fruit plants.
Uploaded
May 30th, 2015
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