498 NEW ENGLAND TREES IN WINTER. 



CHOKE CHERRY 



Prunus virginiana L. 

 Padus virginiana (L. ) Roemer. 



HABIT Generally a tall shrub or a small tree rarely reaching 20-30 

 ft. in height with a trunk diameter of 6-8 inches. 



BARK Dull grayish-brown, smoothish but slightly roughened with 

 raised buff-orange rounded dots formed by the enlarged lenticels, not 

 becoming rough-scaly with age; on young trunks . and branches easily 

 peeled off in thin, dark papery layers exposing the bright green bark 

 below. 



TWIGS Slender to rather stout, averaging stouter than those of the 

 Wild Black Cherry, smooth, reddish to grayish-brown, without grayish 

 skin easily rubbod off, crushed twigs with a rank odor and taste in 

 addition to that of bitter almonds. LENTICELS numerous, rather con- 

 spicuous, buff-orange dots, slightly elongated longitudinally the first 

 year and not becoming distinctly elongated horizontally on later 

 growth. PITH of recent growth white. 



LEAF-SCARS Alternate, more than 2-ranked, elliptical, raised. 

 STIPULE-SCARS inconspicuous or absent. BUNDLE-SCARS 3, fre- 

 quently sunken. 



BUDS Rather large, narrow, ovate to conical, about 6 mm. or more 

 long, smooth, pale brown, sharp-pointed, generally divergent with more 

 or less strongly curved apex; terminal bud frequently slightly smaller 

 than lateral buds. BUD-SCALES a half dozen or more scales visible, 

 broadly ovate, more or less rounded and keeled on the back, with thin 

 grayish margins. 



FRUIT A drupe about the size of a pea, ripening in summer in droop- 

 ing elongated clusters. 



COMPARISONS The Choke Cherry may be distinguished from the 

 Wild Black Cherry with which it is frequently confused by its smaller 

 size, smoothish bark even in old age, its buff colored lenticels which 

 do not elongate horizontally, the rank odor of its twigs and by its 

 larger and paler buds with whitish-margined bud-scales. From the 

 cultivated Sweet and Sour Cherries the Choke Cherry is distinguished 

 by the absence of short fruit spurs and by its gray-margined bud-scales. 

 The lower twig in the plate is infected by a fungus disease Black Knot 

 (Plowrightia morbcsaj which occurs also upon the Wild Black and Wild 

 Red Cherries and upon our cultivated Cherries and also upon the Plums. 



DISTRIBUTION In varying soils; along river banks, on dry plains, in 

 woods, common along walls and often in thickets. From Newfoundland 

 across the continent, as far north on the Mackenzie river as 62 degrees; 

 south to Georgia; west to Minnesota and Texas. 



IN NEW ENGLAND Common throughout; at an altitude of 4,500 feet 

 upon Mt. Katahdin. 



IN CONNECTICUT Rare near the coast in the southeastern part of 

 the state but frequent or common elsewhere. 



WOOD Hard, close-grained, weak, light brown; of insufficient size 

 to be of value commercially. 



