Chokecherry
Chokecherry
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Rosaceae Genus: Prunus Species: P. virginiana
Binomial name
Prunus virginiana

The Chokecherry is the name for a species of suckering shrub or small tree, Prunus virginiana. The name has also been used (as 'Amur Chokecherry') for the related Manchurian Cherry or Amur Cherry Prunus maackii.

In the family Rosaceae, chokeberries, from the genus Aronia, are often mistakenly called chokecherries. This naming confusion is easy to understand considering there is a cultivar of the chokecherry Prunus virginiana 'Melanocarpa' [1] (http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modzz/00001191.html), [2] (http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/545.htm), and a species of chokeberry named Aronia melanocarpa [3] (http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modzz/00000145.html).

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 cultivars of the chokecherry, such as the cultivar 'Goertz', which has a non-astringent, and therefore palatable, fruit. Research is being done at the University of Saskatchewan to find and create new cultivars to increase production and processing [4] (http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/afif/Projects/19960373.pdf).

The chokecherry fruits grow in clusters of approximately 20 fruits, with 1 cm diameter each.

Sources

• Michigan State University Extension Information Management Program (http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modzz/modzzo.html)

External links

• http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/trees/handbook/th-3-13.pdf
• http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/fruit/bla01s00.html