Chokecherry
- Prunus
virginiana
Shrub
or small tree 5 to 20 feet tall with smooth bark and dark green ovate
leaves. Sweet smelling blossoms yield clusters of dark red fruits in late
June/early July. Fruits were harvested by Plains Indians for use in preparing
pemmican, a winter staple food which combined fruit, meat (usually bison,
elk, or deer) and fat. Juice from the crushed fruits was given to a husband
or favorite child as a treat, and sticks were used to season meat during
roasting. Attesting to the significance of chokecherries as a food source,
Dakota refer to the full moon of July as “black cherry moon.”
Settlers prepared sweet treats (preserves, syrups) made from chokecherries
combined with a lot of sugar. Chokecherries may also be eaten raw, though
the pits contain hydrocyanic acid. |
Page Last Updated:
Saturday, April 29, 2006 3:29 PM
Web Author: Jim Pisarowicz