Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)

Family: Rosaceae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

Hardy native shrub or small tree bearing long drooping racemes of dark crimson-black cherries, famous for making the finest wild jellies and syrups.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Berries

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Astringent when raw; deeply flavorful, rich, and tart with dark cherry and plum intensity when cooked with sweetener. — Cooked with sugar or maple syrup into classic chokecherry jelly; Pounded fruit and crushed dried pits incorporated into traditional Great Plains pemmican; Simmered into savory wild game glazes for venison and duck; Dried into dark fruit leather

Habitat & North American Range

Stream banks, open woodlands, prairie thickets, roadsides, and canyon slopes. (Zone 2, Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)