86 HOW TO KNOW WILD FRUITS 



cherry characteristic of peeling off in horizontal 

 strips. 



CHOKE CHERRY 

 Primus Virginiana Plum Family 



Fruit. — The drupes, which are about the 

 size of peas, grow in long drooping clusters 

 at the ends of leafy branches of the season's 

 growth. Each cherry is borne on a short stem 

 nearly equal to it in length. It is globular or 

 oval, with a thin, shiny, dark red or nearly black 

 skin. Yellow fruits have been found. The pulp 

 is yellow, juicy, and rather sweet. The cherries 

 vary much in flavor, but in all cases are more or 

 less astringent. July, August. 



Leaves. — The oval or obovate leaves grow 

 from rounded stems w^hich are grooved on the 

 upper surface. Two or four glands are borne 

 on the margins of these grooves. The leaves 

 are rounded or wedge-shaped at the base and 

 sharply pointed at the apex. The margins are 

 sharply serrate. The upper surface of the leaf 

 is bright green and the lower one is lighter. 



Flowers. — The small, white, cherrylike flow- 

 ers grow in loosely flowered, erect, or spreading 



