Invasive Plant Issues: Control of Invasive Chokecherry Trees
PMC-00345 View this publication in PDF form to print or download.
(Prunus padus and virginiana)
by Gino Graziano
Background: Invasive chokecherry trees in Alaska include European bird cherry (May Day tree) and Canada red chokecherry, Prunus padus and virginiana, respectively. These tree species were first planted as ornamentals in Alaska during the 1950s. They reproduce by seed and roots, and even sprout new trees from branches still attached to the parent plant. Birds spreading seeds have resulted in infestations across a variety of habitats in Alaska, including river and stream corridors, subalpine areas and black spruce bogs.
Infestations exclude desirable vegetation by forming dense stands. Because it contains cyanide in the branch tips and fruit pits, chokecherry is toxic to moose. These trees, as found in recent studies, also do not support the same quantity or quality of insects that fish rely on. Furthermore, chokecherry resprout after fire, similar to willow and aspen, and without moose as a key control, they may easily become dominant species and have negative long-term consequences in Alaska鈥檚 boreal ecosystems.
Impacts of chokecherry:
- Toxic to moose, occasionally causing cyanide poisoning and mortality
- Displaces beneficial plants
- Supports fewer terrestrial insects than native plants, reducing the number that fall into streams, which potentially diminishes the native fish diet
- Creates thick infestations, impeding visibility and access to areas
Identification:
- White flowers form in clusters during late May or early June, lasting about one week.
- Leaves have two small glands at base, unlike any native tree or shrub of Alaska.
- Fruit are green during growth and black when ripe, with woody pits (stones).
Chokecherry flowers