Prunus virginiana Seeds | Chokecherry
LATIN NAME: Prunus virginiana
COMMON NAME: Chokecherry
Plant Profile
Chokecherry is a suckering shrub or small tree of the whole North American continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Arctic tree line down into Mexico. It grows two to six metres tall, often forming thickets by underground stems, and it carries elongated racemes of small white flowers in May, each raceme up to fifteen centimetres long.
The fruit is a small, dark red to black cherry, astringent and mouth-drying when raw, which is why the name refers to the way it makes the mouth pucker. The leaves are oval, finely toothed and glossy above. Schubert is a widely planted form with purple foliage. Every part except the flesh of the ripe fruit contains cyanogenic glycosides.
Science & Biotechnology
Chokecherry is the most widespread of the North American tree cherries, and its variation across that range has produced a series of named varieties: var. virginiana in the east, var. demissa in the west, var. melanocarpa in the Rockies. The cyanogenic glycosides, mainly prunasin and amygdalin, release hydrogen cyanide when the tissue is crushed, and they are the reason the leaves, bark and stones are toxic.
The concentration rises in young leaves and in wilted foliage, and there are well-documented cases of cattle poisoning when prunings or storm-damaged branches are left in a pasture. The fruit itself is safe once the stone is removed, and the astringency comes from tannins rather than from cyanide. The plant is one of the hosts of the eastern tent caterpillar, whose webs are a familiar sight on it in spring.
Uses & Benefits
Chokecherry has a long record of use on the northern plains. The fruit was pounded with the stones, dried in cakes and used as a winter food by many peoples, and it was also made into pemmican; the astringency was reduced by cooking or by drying. Today it is used for jelly, syrup and wine, usually with the stones removed and the juice cooked, since the raw fruit is unpalatable.
In shelterbelts and reclamation plantings the shrub is valuable because it suckers into a dense thicket that holds snow and soil. It is also planted for wildlife: the fruit feeds birds and bears, and the flowers are worked by bees. It should not be planted near pasture, where the wilted foliage is a hazard to livestock, and the purple-leaved form is best kept away from grazing land for the same reason.
Growing from Seed
Clean the stones from the pulp and sow them in autumn in a nursery bed, or cold-stratify for three months at 4 °C and sow in spring. Germination is usually good and the seedlings vigorous. Because the plant suckers, a single seedling will make a thicket in a few years, which is either the point or the problem depending on the site.
Plant out in autumn in any soil, in sun or light shade, and cut the young plant back after planting to encourage it to branch low. If a single-stemmed tree is wanted rather than a thicket, remove the suckers each year and train one leader; otherwise let it spread. The purple-leaved Schubert is propagated by grafting or by root cuttings, not by seed, since its seedlings revert to green.
Our Take
A tough thicket-forming cherry for shelterbelts and wildlife, with fruit for jelly if you beat the birds to it. Keep it away from livestock.
Related Reading
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