Leaf: Elliptical; finely and sharply saw-toothed; slightly thickened. Shiny dark green above, light green and sometimes lslightly hairy beneath; turning yellow in autumn. Leafstalks slender, usually with 2 gland-dots.
Flower: 5 rounded white petals; in unbranched clusters; in late spring.
Fruit: A chokecherry! Shiny dark red or blackish skin; juicy; astringent or bitter pulp; large stone; maturing in late summer.
Twig: Brown, slender, with disagreeable odor and bitter taste.
Bark: Brown or gray; smooth or becoming scaly.
Form: Shrub or small tree, often forming dense thickets, with dark red or blackish chokecherries.
As the common name suggests, chokecherries are astringent or puckery, especially when immature or raw; but they can be made into preserves and jelly. However, the fruit stones are poisonous; also wilted foliage of this and other cherries occasionally contains hydorcyanic acid that can poison livestock. Sometimes divided into three geographic varieties based on minor differences of leaves and fruits.
N British Columbia east to Newfoudland, south to W North Carolina, west to S California.
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/vine/toxdiv/index.html
Photographed outside Fairview, Illinios.
Copyright Jamie Neville and Radine Kellogg
Spoon River Valley HS Dist#4
London Mills, IL 61544
The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees