Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Ontario Weeds: Chokecherry

Table of Contents

1. Name
2. Other Names
3. Family
4. Photos and Pictures
5. Similar Species
6. Caution!
7. For more information...

Name: Chokecherry, Prunus virginiana L.,

Other Names: cerisier à grappes, cerisier de virginie

Family: Buckthorn Family (Rhamnaceae)

Photos and Pictures

Similar Species: Is often confused with the buckthorns because of similar growth form, leaf shape, and fruit size and colour. However, Chokecherry does not have thorns; the side veins of its leaves do not curve forward; its blue-black or deep red fruits have only a single stone; and its young twigs and leaves have an "almond" odour when crushed.

Caution: Chokecherry leaves and branches are poisonous to livestock but the flesh of its fruits is wholely edible. Chokecherry is an alternate host of peach X-disease, a leafhopper-vectored mycoplasm that causes peach trees to die prematurely.

Related Links

... on general Weed topics
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control

| Back to the Ontario Weeds Gallery |