Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) — Plotwright

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Chokecherry

Habit (mature) · Maxime Laterreur / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Limited coverage

Chokecherry

Prunus virginiana

A suckering, thicket-forming native cherry that reads as a large shrub or small tree across most of North America. Fragrant white flowers open in elongated drooping racemes in spring, followed by dense pendulous clusters of pea-sized cherries that ripen red to dark purple-black in late summer. The astringent fruit is technically edible after processing, and the plant is a workhorse for wildlife — feeding birds and mammals and hosting sphinx-moth larvae.

Native: 45 US states + 10 CA provinces

Review: Source-backed

Climate fit: broad (77/100)

Structure

Pollinator

Edible

Light

Full sun / Part sun / Part shade

Water

Low water

Mature size

240-360" tall · 180" apart

Hardy in zones

2a-7b

brutally cold to cold winters

Summer heat range

Cool-Warm

cool to warm summers Interim Plotwright tier until the plant AHS range is authored.

Native in Illinois

Yes

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A documented larval host for the Cecropia moth and 5 other species — caterpillars feed on its foliage before becoming the next generation.

Wildlife relationships

Cold hardiness

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Chicago, IL · 1991-2020 average annual coldest day

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7b

Plotwright

Your zone + climate-model shift · SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry)

Marginal

In plain terms: cold winters — coldest nights typically around -3°F.

✓→⚠

Well-suited today, but likely marginal by 2050.

Heat tolerance

°C

°F

Loading current AHS heat-zone and plant heat-fit data at your coordinates…

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 34 ecoregions — 26 climate-resilient through 2070 · 8 suited today. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

Arizona Mountains forests

Blue Mountains forests

Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

Central Tallgrass prairie

Central-Southern Cascades Forests

Colorado Rockies forests

Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland

Eastern Canadian Forest-Boreal transition

Pollination

Self-fertile

Chokecherry bears perfect (bisexual) white flowers in showy, fragrant racemes that the Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists as attracting bees and butterflies, and plants fruit without a separate pollinizer. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center records it as an important nectar and food source for wildlife. A single plant can set the abundant pendulous cherry clusters the species is known for.

Plants don't grow alone

Larval host

Moth

Hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe)

BAMONA lists cherries and plums (Prunus) as Hemaris thysbe larval hosts; chokecherry is Prunus virginiana.

Larval host

Butterfly

Red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax)

Larval host

Butterfly

Spring azure (Celastrina ladon)

Larval host

Moth

Cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia)

Larval host

Moth

Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus)

Larval host

Moth

Hawkmoths (Sphingidae (family-level entry))

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents chokecherry as a larval host for sphinx moths including the Small-eyed Sphinx, and an adult-food (nectar) source for the Sequoia Sphinx.

Pollinates

Bee

Mason bees (Osmia spp.)

Nectar forage

Bee

European honeybee (Apis mellifera)

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists the fragrant white flower racemes as attracting butterflies and the plant as bee-visited; honey bees forage the open, accessible spring bloom though the sources do not name the species.

Pollen forage

Bee

Mining bees (Andrena spp.)

Fruit forage

Bird

Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Fruit forage

Bird

Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula)

Fruit forage

Bird

American robin (Turdus migratorius)

Fruit forage

Bird

Eastern songbirds (multi-species) (multiple species (Passeriformes))

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center records the blue-black cherries as important wildlife food in July and August for numerous bird species; Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists the plant as attracting birds.

Fruit forage

Bird

Cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

Cedar waxwings are fruit specialists that feed heavily on native cherries; the sources document chokecherry fruit as broadly important bird food, so waxwing use is expected though not named species-by-species.

Foliage forage

Mammal

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Shelter / habitat

Bird

Black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Shelter / habitat

Bird

Downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)

Shelter / habitat

Beetle

Lady beetles (Coccinellidae)

For people

Edible with preparation

The dark cherries are technically edible but astringent ("choke"-cherry), and the Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists the fruit as showy and edible while noting it is best processed. The ripe pulp is cooked into jelly, syrup, wine, and the Indigenous berry pudding wojapi. The seeds (pits), leaves, twigs, and bark contain cyanogenic compounds and should not be eaten; only the cooked, de-pitted ripe pulp is used.

Toxic parts

seeds, leaves, twigs, bark

Sources & citations

Cite this page

For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.

Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana). Retrieved 2026, June 5, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/chokecherry

Sources for every fact

Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited — 18 source-backed.

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

Botanical research database

Backs 17 fields

Identity

Summary

Plant type

Light

Moisture

Hardiness

Heat zone

Size

Spacing

Habit

Design roles

Seasonal interest

Growth stages

Lifecycle

Regional guidance

Success tips

Designer notes

Wikimedia Commons

Photo · CC BY-SA 4.0

Backs 1 field

Image

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Database

Botanical research database

Community photos

The photos above are our reviewed reference set, curated for accuracy.

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