CHOKE CHERRY Prunus virginiana-Warning, may be Poisonous

WARNING: Chokecherry is toxic to horses, Elk (moose), cattle, goats, deer, wapiti, and other animals with segmented stomachs (rumens), especially after the leaves have wilted (such as after a FROST or after branches have been broken) because wilting releases cyanide and also makes the plant sweet. Cyanide (used in gas chamber) is also more than just slightly toxic to humans.

Released unconditionally into public domain by copyright holder

Choke Cherry:So named because; when eaten, the choke cherry produces a choking sensation

• CHOKE CHERRY virginiana
  
  This image is in the Public Domain because it contains materials that originally came from an United States of the Americas Geological survey; made by an agency of the Department of Interior.
  
  
  Although as the above map of their natural range clearly shows; and because for many North American native tribes of the Northern Rockies, Northern Plains, and Boreal Forest Region of Canada and the United States of the Americas, choke cherries were the most important fruit in their diets; this has to be deemed extremely unlikely; 'Virginiana' supposedly refers to the area where Choke Cherries were first identified and described.
  
  
  UNIQUE FEATURES:
  The Choke Cherry is usually a shrub, sometimes a tree
  Choke Cherries sometimes have twisted or crooked trunk
  The Choke Cherry has a narrow, irregular crown
  LOCATION:
  The Choke Cherry is found in southern BC, east of the Coast and Cascade mountains and also grows in central and north eastern BC. It is mainly found at low to mid elevations, along watercourses, and at the edge of woodland thickets.
  
  
  Warning: Leaves were used in "KINNIKINNICK" the much fabled; and equally misunderstood; SMOKING MIXTURE; (Kinnikinnick is not CORRECTLY a plant. It is not/was not; nor did it comprise entirely of red osier dogwood or any other one plant) used by aboriginal tribes of North America. Which could be deadly Poison.
  
  
  SIZE:
  3 to 12 feet tall
  FRUIT:
  
  Round, shiny, black or crimson cherries
  1/2 inch in diameter
  Edible but somewhat bitter, popular with birds
  FLOWERS:
  Small, 5 petaled, white, with numerous clusters at the end of the twig (resembling a bottle brush)
  Blooms in May and June.
  LEAVES:
  Oval-shaped, pointed at tip and blunt base, broadest above the middle with sharply toothed edges. They are a thin, dull green with a hairy underside.
  BARK:
  Dark reddish-brown to greyish-brown, smooth bark that doesn't peel readily
  USES:
  Modern - cherries: beer, wine, juice, syrup, jelly
  Traditional - Perhaps one reason why their lives were generally so short; it is generally claimed that Chokecherries were among the most important and widely used berries by First Nations across Canada. In Alberta and British Columbia the fruits were apparently highly regarded, especially amongst Interior First Nations Peoples.
   They were collected after a frost (which, as already explained, makes them much sweeter) and were dried or cooked, often as an addition to First Nations Style Pemmican or stews. Large quantities were gathered, pulverized with rocks, formed into patties and dried for winter use  They were most commonly dried with the pits intact (a process that was thought to destroy the toxic hydrocyanic acid [most of which is actually found in the pits of the berries and fruit] and could also be stored when picked as branches for several months, if kept in a cool, dry place.
  

  
  The bark of chokecherry root was once made into concoction used to ward off or treat colds, fever, and stomach maladies; by native Canadians and other North Americans .  Incorrectly, known as Kinnikinnick, the inner bark of the chokecherry, like red osier dogwood, and/or alder, was used by Native Americans in their smoking mixtures (kinnikinnick was the name for these mixtures. Chokecherry is toxic to horses,Elk (moose), cattle, goats, deer,wapiti, and other animals with segmented stomachs (rumens), especially after the leaves have wilted (such as after a frost or after branches have been broken)off and stored, because wilting releases cyanide and also makes the plant sweet.
  
  Cyanide (used in gas chamber executions)CAN BE FATAL. Symptoms of a horse that has been poisoned include heavy breathing, agitation, and weakness. cherries: food (often dried); wood: handles; bark: tonic, shredded for decorating baskets and as a twine
  ©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.