PL ANT OF TH E M ON TH
JIM FUNAI, LIC Cuyahoga Community College
SHELLEY FUNAI, LIC Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens Linden Viburnum
PRUNUS VIRGINIANA CHOKECHERRY
If you’ve ever been around for the aftermath of someone – perhaps yourself – tasting an unripe Persimmon (Diospyros) fruit, you certainly know the hilarious faces one makes as the agony of bitterness engages their unsuspecting taste buds. With that in mind, it’s important to remember that while there are a number of fruiting plants in our landscapes which are edible and tasty, there are also a number that are either poisonous, or edible, but outright mean. These mean ones, or as we like to call them “Taste Bud Attackers,” can sometimes be hidden behind innocent sounding names, like Persimmon. Other times, someone had such an unpleasant tasting experience that they named it “Chokecherry.” And true to its name, the Chokeberry (Aronia spp.) is a very astringent fruit that can turn your mouth inside out in disgust. If you aren’t careful, and you pop, quickly chew and swallow a few, you are almost guaranteed to choke. Now, we all know there are a number of Cherry trees (Prunus spp.) out there that we simply refer to as an “Ornamental Cherry” because they have some of the best spring flower shows, yet don’t follow up with an edible fruit. Ornamental Cherries are great
28 | Official Publication of The Ohio Landscape Association
for the flowers, and as long as you’re OK with them having a somewhat truncated life span (20-30 years, maybe.) In that case, they are great for the joy they bring to the landscape each spring. On the flip-side, there is good old Prunus serotina, the Wild Black Cherry. It is a large (up to one-hundred foot) deciduous native of our landscape that has less-ornamental clusters of flowers. These flowers are followed by a barrage of small purple fruits, which generally end up as purple bird poop on car windshields and popped seedlings throughout the landscape. Many people tend to be quite familiar with this native Cherry tree, but seem to less familiar with another native Cherry tree out there, called the Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana).