Wild Choke Cherries

Prunus virginiana or Choke Cherry is commonly found in most of North America and the Oconee National Forest, to which Gohn Greene Farms abuts, is no exception. The Choke Cherry is a common understory tree, and is planted elsewhere often, having several commercial applications.

The Choke Cherry is not usually eaten raw, as it's high seed to pulp ratio makes it a pain to eat. But it's great for making preserves, jams and jellies, juices and of course, wine. The fruits are sweet and delicious, the bright "yang" of the tree, but there is a dark "yin" side to the Choke Cherry as well.

While the cherries themselves are edible, delicious and even good for you, much of the rest of the plant is toxic. Anthocyanins, compounds found in these plants which give the cherries their dark color signalling ripeness and sweetness are thought to harvest free radicals in the body preventing cell damage(cancer). On the other hand, these same compounds are used differently by the rest of the plant in its leaves, stems and seeds to produce cyanide and other toxins. You can't have shade without sunshine, there's always a yin to the yang.

It is unlikely that accidentally swallowing a pit will lead to ill effects, but it's not recommended. Likewise, don't chew on the stems or eat the leaves. Wilting leaves tend to be especially dangerous, releasing more toxins as they die. For this reason, Choke Cherry trees are often removed from livestock pens to avoid accidental poisoning. I'd like to have goats in and around these trees, and if the leaves can be kept above browse level I should be ok, but any downed limbs would need to be removed to avoid any potential problems.

As they're already all over Gohn Greene Farms I might as well give Choke Cherry preserves a try. Pitting the seeds will be a chore, but cancer prevention and peanut butter sandwiches sound like a great reward!