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| − | {{Hatnote|Not to be confused with ''[[Aronia]]'', called chokeberries}}
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| | | image = Prunus virginiana flowers.jpg | | | image = Prunus virginiana flowers.jpg |
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| | | synonyms_ref = <ref name="ThePlantList">{{ThePlantList |accessdate=January 27, 2014}}</ref> | | | synonyms_ref = <ref name="ThePlantList">{{ThePlantList |accessdate=January 27, 2014}}</ref> |
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| − | '''''Prunus virginiana''''', commonly called '''bitter-berry''',<ref name=grin>{{GRIN|id=30151 |name=Prunus virginiana |accessdate=February 28, 2013}}</ref> '''chokecherry''',<ref name=grin /> '''Virginia bird cherry'''<ref name=grin /> and '''western chokecherry'''<ref name=grin /> (also '''black chokecherry''' for ''P. virginiana'' var. ''demissa''<ref name=grin />), is a species of bird cherry (''Prunus'' subgenus ''Padus'') native to [[North America]]; the natural historic range of ''P. virginiana'' includes most of Canada (including [[Northwest Territories]] but excluding [[Yukon]], [[Nunavut]], and Labrador), most of the United States (including [[Alaska]] but excluding some states in the [[Southeastern United States|Southeast]]) and northern Mexico ([[Sonora]], [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], [[Baja California]], [[Durango]], [[Zacatecas]], [[Coahuila]] and [[Nuevo León]]).<ref>{{BONAP|ref |genus=Prunus |species=virginiana |state=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3110 |title=Prunus virginiana: photos, partial distribution map |website=SEINet, Arizona–New Mexico chapter}}</ref><ref name="FNA">{{eFloras|1|242417061|Prunus virginiana |family=Rosaceae |first=Joseph R. |last=Rohrer}}</ref>{{citation needed|reason=Reference for Mexican part of range.|date=July 2018}}
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| − | == Description ==
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| − | Chokecherry is a suckering [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] growing to {{cvt|1|-|6|m|ftin}} tall, rarely to {{cvt|10|m|ftin}}. The [[leaves]] are [[Leaf shape|oval]], {{cvt|2.5|-|9|cm|in|frac=8}} long and {{cvt|1.2|-|5|cm|frac=8}} wide, with a [[serrated]] [[leaf margin|margin]].<ref name="FNA" />
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| − | The [[flowers]] are produced in [[raceme]]s {{cvt|4|-|11|cm|frac=4}} long in late spring (well after leaf emergence). They are {{cvt|1/3|-|1/2|in|mm|0}} across.<ref>{{Illinois Wildflowers|trees/plants/chokecherry|Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)|html=1}}</ref><ref>{{Minnesota Wildflowers|tree/chokecherry|Prunus virginiana (Chokecherry)}}</ref> They produce a strong heady aroma which some people find to be unpleasantly smelly, while others perceive them to have an aphrodisiac like effect.
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| − | The [[fruit]]s are about {{cvt|6|-|14|mm|frac=32|abbr=on}} in diameter, range in color from bright red to black, and possess a very [[astringent]] taste, being both somewhat sour and somewhat bitter. When very ripe, the "berries" (actually [[drupe]]s) are dark in color and less astringent and sweeter than when red and unripe.<ref name="FNA" />
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| − | == Characteristics ==
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| − | Chokecherries are very high in [[antioxidant]] [[pigment]] compounds, such as [[anthocyanins]]. They share this property with [[chokeberries]], further contributing to confusion.<ref name="FNA" />
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| − | ;Varieties<ref>{{cite book |last=Farrar |first=J.L. |date=1995 |title=Trees in Canada |publisher=[[Fitzhenry & Whiteside]] |location=Markham, Ontario}}</ref><ref name="ThePlantList" />
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| − | * ''Prunus virginiana'' var. ''virginiana'' (the eastern chokecherry)
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| − | * ''Prunus virginiana'' var. ''demissa'' <small>(Nutt. ex Torr. & A.Gray) Torr.</small> (the western chokecherry)
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| − | * ''Prunus virginiana'' var. ''melanocarpa'' <small>(A.Nelson) Sarg.</small>
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| − | [[File:Chokecherry2web.jpg|thumb|left|Chokecherry – [[Habit (biology)|habit]]]]
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| − | The wild chokecherry is often considered a pest, as it is a host for the [[tent caterpillar]], a threat to other fruit plants. However, there are more appreciated [[cultivar]]s of the chokecherry. 'Canada Red' or 'Schubert' has leaves that mature to purple and turn orange and red in the autumn.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modzz/00001191.html |title=Prunus virginiana--Chokecherry |website=Ornamental Plants plus Version 3.0 |editors=Michigan State University Extension and Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association |publisher=Michigan State University |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011126083620/http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modzz/00001191.html |archive-date=2001-11-26}}</ref> 'Goertz' has a non[[astringent]], and therefore [[palatable]], fruit. Research at the [[University of Saskatchewan]] seeks to find and create new cultivars to increase production and processing.
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| − | [[File:SK-Prunus-Closeup.JPG|thumb|right|Leaf of Saskatchewan plant]]
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| − | The chokecherry is closely related to the [[black cherry]] (''[[Prunus serotina]]'') of eastern [[North America]]; it is most readily distinguished from that by its smaller size (black cherry trees can reach 100 feet tall), smaller leaves, and sometimes red ripe fruit. The chokecherry leaf has a finely [[serrated]] margin and is dark green above with a paler underside, while the black cherry leaf has numerous blunt edges along its margin and is dark green and smooth.<ref name="FNA" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Edible Wild Plants A North American Field Guide |first1=Thomas S. |last1=Elias |first2=Peter A. |last2=Dykeman |publisher=[[Sterling Publishing]] |location=New York |date=1990 |isbn=0-8069-7488-5}}</ref>
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| − | The name chokecherry is also used for the related [[Manchurian cherry]] or Amur chokecherry (''Prunus maackii'').
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| − | == Food use ==
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| − | For many [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] tribes of the [[Northern Rockies]], [[Northern Plains]], and [[boreal forest]] region of [[Canada]] and the [[United States]], chokecherries were the most important fruit in their diets and were added to [[pemmican]], a staple. The bark of chokecherry root was once made into an [[wikt:asperous|asperous]]-textured concoction used to ward off or treat colds, fever and stomach maladies by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]].<ref>{{cite book |page=81 |title=Trees of Michigan and the Upper Great Lakes |edition=6th |first=Norman F. |last=Smith |publisher=Thunder Bay Press |date=2002}}</ref> The inner bark of the chokecherry, as well as [[red osier dogwood]], or [[alder]], was also used by natives in their smoking mixtures, known as [[kinnikinnick]], to improve the taste of the [[bearberry]] leaf.<ref>{{cite web |date=2009 |url=http://lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=1355 |title=Bearberry |website=Discovering Lewis and Clark |publisher=The Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation}}</ref> The chokecherry fruit can be used to make jam or syrup, but the bitter nature of the fruit requires sugar to sweeten the preserves.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gibbons |first=Euell |date=1962 |title=Stalking the Wild Asparagus |publisher=David McKay |place=New York}}</ref>
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| − | Chokecherry is toxic to [[horse]]s, [[moose]], [[cattle]], [[goats]], [[deer]], and other animals with segmented stomachs ([[rumen]]s), especially after the leaves have wilted (such as after a frost or after branches have been broken) because wilting releases [[cyanide]] and makes the plant sweet. About 10–20 lbs of foliage can be fatal. Symptoms of a horse that has been poisoned include heavy breathing, agitation, and weakness. The leaves of the chokecherry serve as food for [[caterpillar]]s of various [[Lepidoptera]]. See [[List of Lepidoptera which feed on Prunus|List of Lepidoptera which feed on ''Prunus'']].
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| − | In 2007, Governor [[John Hoeven]] signed a bill naming the chokecherry the official fruit of the state of [[North Dakota]], in part because its remains have been found at more archeological sites in the [[Dakotas]] than anywhere else.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kindscher |first=K. |date=1987 |title=Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide}}</ref>
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| − | Chokecherry is also used to craft wine in the western [[United States]] mainly in the [[Dakotas]] and [[Utah]] as well as in [[Manitoba]], Canada.
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| − | [[File:2014-10-03 15 15 35 Chokecherry showing autumn foliage coloration along the main ridge of the Diamond Mountains south of Diamond Peak, Nevada.JPG|thumb|right|Autumn foliage]]
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| − | == See also ==
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| − | * [[Choke pear (plant)|Choke pear]]
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| | == References == | | == References == |
| | {{Reflist}} | | {{Reflist}} |
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| − | == External links ==
| + | [[Category:Prunus]] |
| − | {{Commons|Prunus virginiana}}
| + | [[Category:Plants for Keenan to eat]] |
| − | * [http://www.healthaliciousness.com/nutritionfacts/nutrition-comparison.php?o=35179&t=35204&h=&s=100&e=100&r=100 Health Alicious Ness, Nutrition Facts for Chokecherries]
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| − | * [http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/trees/handbook/th-3-13.pdf North Dakota State University Agriculture, Chokecherry]
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| − | {{Taxonbar|from=Q162829}}
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| − | [[Category:Bird cherry]]
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| − | [[Category:Prunus|virginiana]] | |
| − | [[Category:Flora of North America]]
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| − | [[Category:Edible nuts and seeds]]
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| − | [[Category:Garden plants of North America]]
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| − | [[Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine]] | |
| − | [[Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine]]
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| − | [[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
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