CHOKE CHERRY
Prunus virginiana

• when eaten, the cherry produces a choking sensation
• 'virginiana' refers to the area they were first identified and described

UNIQUE FEATURES:

• usually a shrub, sometimes a tree
• sometimes has twisted or crooked trunk
• narrow, irregular crown

LOCATION:

• southern BC, east of the Coast and Cascade mountains
• central and northeastern BC
• low to mid elevations
• along watercourses, edge of woodlands and thickets

SIZE:

• 1 to 4 metres tall
• 1 to 4 metres tall

FRUIT:

• round, shiny, black or crimson cherries
• 15 mm in diameter
• edible but bitter, popular with birds

FLOWERS:

• small, 5 petaled, white, numerous
• cluster at the end of the twig (resembling a bottle brush)
• bloom in May and June

LEAVES:

• oval-shaped, pointed at tip and blunt base
• broadest above the middle with sharply toothed edges
• 8 to 10 cm long
• thin, dull green with a greenish, hairy underside

BARK:

• dark reddish-brown to greyish-brown
• smooth, doesn't peel readily

USES:

• modern - cherries: wine, juice, syrup, jelly
• traditional - cherries: food (often dried); wood: handles; bark: tonic, shredded for decorating baskets and as a twine