Description:
This is a deciduous shrub or small tree that becomes 8-25' tall at
maturity. It has a short trunk about 2-6" across, while its crown is
irregular with ascending to widely spreading branches. On older trees,
trunk bark is gray or grayish brown and somewhat scaly or wrinkled,
otherwise it is more brown and smooth with prominent lenticels (lateral
air pores). The branches and twigs are brown to reddish brown and
smooth with prominent lenticels. Young shoots are light green, reddish
green, or brownish green, glabrous, and terete. Alternate leaves occur
along twigs and young shoots. These leaves are 2-4" long and ¾–2"
across; they are ovate to ovate-obovate in shape, while their margins
are serrated. The leaves taper somewhat abruptly into long slender
tips, while their bases are more or less rounded. The upper leaf
surface is medium to dark green and glabrous, while the lower leaf
surface is light green and glabrous (or nearly so). Sometimes, a few
hairs are found along the central and lateral veins of the leaf
undersides. The
slender petioles are ½–1" long, light green to reddish green, and
glabrous. Solitary pairs of minute glands often occur near the tips of
petioles where they join the leaf blades. The crushed foliage of this
woody plant has a strong bitter-almond scent.
Cylindrical racemes of
10-25 flowers develop at the tips of branches or from short lateral
shoots; these racemes are 3½–6" long and about 1" in diameter. Each
flower is about ½" across when it is fully open, consisting of 5
spreading white petals, 5 sepals, 15-20 stamens, and a pistil with
a single style. The petals are oval to orbicular in shape and clawed
(abruptly narrowed) at their bases; the face of each petal is somewhat
concave. The sepals are oval in shape, glabrous, partially overlapping,
and shorter than the petals. The sepals are initially light green, but
they later become yellow; this causes the centers of the flowers to
appear yellow. The stamens are about as long as the petals, making them
conspicuous. The pedicels of the flowers and the central stalks of
racemes are light green and glabrous. The flowers bloom during mid- to
late spring, lasting about 1-2 weeks; they have an almond-sweet
fragrance. Afterwards, the flowers are replaced by drupes that become
mature during the summer. Mature drupes are about 6-10 mm. across,
bright red or dark red (in Illinois), and globoid in shape (see
Photo).
Each drupe
contains a a single small stone (seed with a hard coat) that is
surrounded by juicy flesh; the flavor of this flesh is bitter and sour.
The woody root system is shallow and spreading; sometimes clonal plants
are produced from underground runners that can extend several feet. By
this means, thickets of clonal plants sometimes form.
Cultivation:
The preference is full sun to light shade and moist to dry-mesic
conditions. Many kinds of soil are tolerated, including those that
contain sand, silt, loam, glacial till, clay, or rocky material. This
woody plant also tolerates soil with varying pH (from acidic to
alkaline). Chokecherry develops quickly and it may spread into adjacent
areas where it isn't wanted.
Range
& Habitat: The native
Chokecherry occurs occasionally in the northern half of Illinois, while
in the southern half of the state it is rare or absent (see
Distribution
Map).
Habitats include typical woodlands and sandy
woodlands, typical savannas and sandy savannas, open disturbed
woodlands, woodland openings, woodland borders, wooded ravines, slopes
of bluffs, stabilized sand dunes near Lake Michigan, typical thickets
and sandy thickets, powerline clearances in wooded areas, fence rows,
and abandoned fields. Chokecherry is a pioneer species that colonizes
disturbed areas where some of the woody vegetation has been damaged,
killed, or removed. While Chokecherry is easily top-killed by fire, it
is able to resprout from its root system with little difficulty.
Faunal
Associations: The flowers are cross-pollinated primarily
by bees,
including honeybees, bumblebees, Andrenid bees, and Halictid bees
(including green metallic bees). Syrphid flies and
other flies are also common visitors of the flowers. Both
nectar and pollen are available as floral rewards for these visitors.
Like other
Prunus spp.
(Plums, Cherries), Chokecherry is a host plant
of many insects that feed destructively on its foliage, wood, sap,
flowers, and fruit. These insect feeders include the larvae of
Agrilus
vittaticollis (Hawthorn Root Borer), larvae of
Scolytus rugulosus
(Shothole Borer), the flea beetle
Crepidodera
violacea, the leaf beetle
Eusattodera thoracica,
fruit-eating larvae of
Contarinia
virginianiae
(Chokecherry Midge), larvae of the gall fly
Contarinia racemi,
the
aphid
Asiphonaphis pruni,
Myzus cerasi (Black
Cherry Aphid),
Rhopalosiphum padi (Bird
Cherry & Oat Aphid),
Rhopalosiphum
cerasifoliae (Chokecherry Aphid), and the leafhopper
Erythridula
aspera (Marshall, 2006; Clark et al., 2004; Felt, 1917;
Blackman
& Eastop, 2013; Robinson & Bradley, 1965; Dmitriev
& Dietrich, 2010).
The caterpillars of two butterflies,
Limenitis arthemis
astyanax (Red-spotted Purple) and
Satyrium titus
(Coral Hairstreak),
feed on Chokecherry, as do the caterpillars of such moths as
Acronicta
hasta (Speared Dagger Moth),
Argyresthia oreasella
(Cherry Shoot Borer),
Catocala
ultronia (Ultronia
Underwing),
Eucirroedia
pampina (Scalloped Sallow),
Metarranthis
angularia
(Angled Metarranthis),
Metarranthis
hypochraria (Common Metarranthis),
Orthosia garmani
(Garman's Quaker),
Archips
cerasivorana (Ugly Nest
Caterpillar), and
Malacosoma
americanum (Eastern Tent Caterpillar); see
Opler & Krizek (1984) and Covell (1984/2005). Chokecherry and
other cherry species are also important sources of food to
many vertebrate animals, including birds and mammals. The fruit is
consumed by many upland gamebirds, songbirds, and woodpeckers (see
Bird
Table). Examples of such birds include the Ruffed Grouse,
Wild Turkey,
Bobwhite Quail, Cardinal, Blue Jay, Baltimore Oriole, Scarlet Tanager,
Wood Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Red-headed
Woodpecker.
Such mammals as the Black Bear, Gray Fox, Raccoon, Opossum,
Striped Skunk, Fox Squirrel, Gray Squirrel, Red Squirrel, and Eastern
Chipmunk also eat the fruit (Martin et al., 1951/1961). The seeds of
these fruits are eaten by the Eastern Chipmunk, White-footed Mouse,
Meadow Jumping Mouse, and Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (Webb
& Willson, 1985). The twigs and foliage of Chokecherry and
other cherry trees are eaten by the White-tailed Deer, while the bark
of saplings are gnawed by the Cottontail Rabbit during the winter.
Occasionally, cattle and sheep are poisoned by browsing on the foliage
of Chokecherry. This is because a chemical compound converts into toxic
hydrocyanic acid when the foliage is damaged or wilted. However, the
toxicity of Chokecherry's foliage declines as it becomes older later in
the year.
Photographic
Location: A woodland at Judge Webber Park in Urbana,
Illinois, and a woodland at the Toledo Botanical Garden in Toledo, Ohio.
Comments: Chokecherry has a wide distribution across the
northern half
of the United States and southern Canada. It is similar to another
native species, Wild Black Cherry (
Prunus
serotina), in producing showy
racemes of flowers, although the racemes of Chokecherry are slightly
shorter in length. While Wild Black Cherry can become a full-sized
tree, Chokecherry is a shrub or small tree. These two species can be
distinguished by their leaves: the leaves of Wild Black Cherry have a
more slender shape and their teeth are incurved, while the leaves of
Chokecherry are more broad and their teeth are straight. The native
Chokecherry is very similar in appearance to an introduced Eurasian
species that is occasionally cultivated, Bird Cherry (
Prunus padus).
The latter species differs by having shorter stamens on its flowers and
it tends to have a more tree-like habit of growth. Like Chokecherry and
Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry produces its flowers in racemes, rather
than in umbel-like clusters. So far, Bird Cherry has rarely naturalized
in the wild in Illinois.