The Choke Cherry or chokecherry tree, Prunus virginiana, is frequently, but mistakenly, called Chokeberry, another member of the same family, Rosaceae, the genus Aronia. The two plants are not close relations.


The Choke cherry is a suckering bush or small fruit bearing tree reaching to 5 m in height. It is a member of the family Rosaceae, genus Prunus, and indigenous to North America. The Chokecherry tree is close related to the Black Cherry, Prunus serotina.

The leaves are ovate, 3-10 cm long, with a coarsely toothed border. The white blossoms of the Chokecherry tree are coming out in late spring to early summer, form long bottle-brush like bunches of 15-30.

The fruit of Chokecherry is just about 1 cm diameter with sharp, sour taste but creates fine jellies, jams and sauces. The fruits mature at the end of summertime, and could be in color from yellow, orange, bright red to dark purple. The very mature berries are dark in color and to a lesser extent astringent than the red berries.

Other portions of the plant were used by native peoples for medicative proposes. The roots were chewed and laid on open wounds to prevent hemorrhaging, and the bark was boiled with other ingredients to treat diarrhoea and pyrexia.

Chokecherries contain high levels of vitamins, antioxidants such as anthocyanins and polyphenols that cut down the potentiality for cancer and heart health condition. Merchandises made from chokeberries include jams, jellies, juice and wine.

The wild Choke cherry is a host for the tent caterpillar, in its native North America, a threat to other fruit plants, and therefore conceived as a pest tree. However, there are more valued cultivars of the chokecherry, such as ‘Goertz’, which has a non-astringent, and hence eatable, fruit.

Choke cherries can be propagated from seed, cuttings, suckers and crown sectioning.

choke cherries, chokecherry, prunus virginian

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