498 NEW EXGLAXD 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 \\"ith a trunk diameter c>f 6-i inches. 



BARK — I>ull grayish-brown, smoothish but slightly roughened with 

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

 becoming rough-scaly with age; on j'oung trunks and branches easily 

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

 below. 



TAVIGS — Slender to rather stout, averaging stouter than those of the 

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

 skin easily rubbud 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-SCAKS — Alternate, niore than 2-ranked. elliptical, raised. 

 STIPULE- SCARS—inuonspicuu us or absent. BUNDLE- SCARS — 3, fre- 

 i_iuentl>' sunken. 



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

 long, smooth, pale bruwn. sharp-pointed, generally divergent with more 

 or less strongl>" curved apex; terminal bud frequently slightly smaller 

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

 broadly o"\-ate, mure or less rounded and keeled on the back, with thia 

 g'rayish margins. 



FRUIT — ^V drupe about the size of a pea, ripening in summer in droop- 

 ing elong'ated clusters. 



CO^n'ARUSOXS — The Choke Cherry may be distinguished from the 

 AV'ild Blatk Cherry with which it is frequently confused by its smaller 

 size, sUiOuthish bark e\en in old age, its buff' colured lenticels which 

 do not elongate hoi-izi>ntally, 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 

 (Floicri[ihtia itiorbusaj which occurs also upon the Wild Black and Wild 

 Red Cherries and u])On 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 G2 degrees; 

 south to Georgia; west tu Minnesuta and Texas. 



TN NEAY EXclLAXD — Common throughout; at an altitude of 4,500 feet 

 upun INit. Katalidin. 



IX CC'XXECTICUT — Rare near the coast in the southeastern part of 

 ttie stale but fr<.i|iient ur common clst^whert-. 



M'OOn — I-la ril. (■■l.ipe-£rr;i i nr-d. weak, light briiwn ; nf insn ffi'-ient size 

 io be of value commercially. 



