Chokecherry – Native Tree of the Week

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) is a shrub or small tree native to much of the northern US and Canada. It is widely known and named for the bitter taste of its berry, which, when eaten, can leave an astringent and even dry sensation on the tongue. The pits of these berries are known to be poisonous due to hydrocyanic acid produced by the tree’s stems, leaves, and seeds. Despite this, its fruit has been a popular food for both humans and animals for centuries. 

In Wisconsin’s forests, the chokecherry is a keystone species, supporting a whopping 340 caterpillar species. It's a choice host plant for butterflies like the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, as well as for large, showy moth species, like the Cecropia and Polyphemus moths. The shrubby, shorter structure of the chokecherry creates ideal hiding places for birds and other animals. This tree’s berries are also consumed by birds, insects, and mammals, including humans.

The chokecherry roots are known to prevent soil erosion on hillsides and riverbanks. This is due in part to its ability to spread through rhizomes – underground nodes that can shoot out additional roots and stems to reproduce. These rhizomatic reproduction strategies are often extremely advantageous to plants, shrubs, and trees that can use them, and they can make the plant more resilient to environmental changes. This means that chokecherry can, under the right conditions, create whole areas occupied by the mother plant and its rhizome offspring. Sometimes considered a nuisance, these chokecherry thickets provide excellent habitat for birds, insects, and others, and can be very important to our local ecosystems despite the appearance of claiming an area only for themselves. 

The history of chokecherry’s consumption by humans begins with indigenous people. Many tribes across the US and Canada have eaten this berry for generations, combating the harsh flavor by drying the berries in the sun or cooking them. Crushed chokecherries are spread across dried meat to create pemmican, an important food that provides necessary nutrition in the winter. Since the arrival of sugar in the US, chokecherries continue to be used in jams, jellies, and other dishes. If you’ve ever tasted a chokecherry or used it in cooking, you know the unique dimension it can bring to dishes and baking. 

Right now, the berries are a yellow-green, and not yet ready for consumption, but as they age, they’ll become red, and then ease into the dark purple or black color that indicates ripeness. Please don’t pick chokecherry berries without the guidance of an expert. Remember, foraging is not allowed in public parks or on any of the land we manage. 

I’ll always remember my first taste of chokecherry – my dad handed me a berry and told me to eat it without clueing me in to the bitter flavor ahead of time. Despite my puckered lips and the parched sensation it left in my mouth, that berry connected me to a long tradition that envelops humans and nonhumans from across the plant’s range. And that’s something very special.

Header photo credit: Charles de Mille-Isles from Mille-Isles, Canada, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources:

• https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/plantmaterials/kspmcpg5596.pdf 
• https://www.prairienursery.com/chokecherry-prunus-virginiana.html#:~:text=This%20includes%20five%20species%20of,Imperial%20moth%20and%20Io%20moth. 
• https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants/keystone-plants-by-ecoregion 
• https://www.thespruce.com/rhizomes-2131103‍