Prunus virginiana (proo’-nus vir-gin-e-a’-na)
Family: Rosaceae, Rose
Key Steps
- 1b – Alternate leaf arrangement — go to 18
- 18a – Leaf simple — go to 19
- 19b – Thornless — go to 22
- 22e – All leaves unlobed — go to 31
- 31d – Leaf is oval or oblong (twice as long as wide) — go to 40
- 40b – Leaf base symmetrical — go to 43
- 43b – Leaf margin not wavy or only slightly wavy; margin obviously toothed — go to 44
- 44b – Petiole is less than 1 inch long — go to 45
- 45b – Irregular pinnate venation; veins may curve slightly; usually splitting and forking near the leaf margin — go to 48
- 48b – Usually glands on petiole or base of leaf. Stem and buds not hairy — go to 50
- 50b – True terminal bud present — go to 54
- 54a – Leaves finely serrated — go to 55
- 55a – Leaves green — go to 56
- 56b – No glandular dots on lower leaf surface. Bark gray/brown, not peeling — Common Chokecherry
- 55a – Leaves green — go to 56
- 54a – Leaves finely serrated — go to 55
- 50b – True terminal bud present — go to 54
- 48b – Usually glands on petiole or base of leaf. Stem and buds not hairy — go to 50
- 45b – Irregular pinnate venation; veins may curve slightly; usually splitting and forking near the leaf margin — go to 48
- 44b – Petiole is less than 1 inch long — go to 45
- 43b – Leaf margin not wavy or only slightly wavy; margin obviously toothed — go to 44
- 40b – Leaf base symmetrical — go to 43
- 31d – Leaf is oval or oblong (twice as long as wide) — go to 40
- 22e – All leaves unlobed — go to 31
- 19b – Thornless — go to 22
- 18a – Leaf simple — go to 19
Description
Leaf: Egg-shaped or oval, 2-5 inches long. Tiny, sharp pointed teeth. Hairless central vein. Two round knobby glands at top of petiole near the base of leaf.
Bud: 3/16 inch long, dull brown. Bud scales rounded at tips with gray margins. Terminal bud present.
Leaf Scar: Oval, 3 bundle scars.
Stem: Rank odor. No spurs, no thorns. Gray film. Stout, smooth, dull. Light colored.
Flower: White, creamy, 5-petalled. Round tipped blossoms on a long, central stalk. Fragrant.
Fruit: Reddish-purple to black, elongated clusters. Long central fruit stalk may remain through winter. Flesh of fruit edible. Seeds poisonous.
Habit: Single trunked small tree or multi-stemmed shrub. Suckers. To 15-25 feet tall.
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