The choke cherry is a small tree with frequently crooked or inclined trunk
and a narrow, open, slender-branched head. It is found over most of the state
at the edge of woods, in fence rows and waste places. It is a beautiful tree
when in flower in the spring, and is a valuable wildlife tree.
The thin leaves are dark green and shiny above, pale and dull beneath. The leaf is finely toothed with outward curved teeth. It is oval and quitebroad, and narrow toward the base.
The stout twigs are aromatic and bitter, light brown to dark 
red-brown
and marked with large, oblong white spots. On older stems it becomes dark
gray, slightly roughened or scaly and matted
The small, fleshy and cherry like fruit is found on short stems in clusters similar to grapes. It is nearly black and is edible when ripe. On young stems, the bark is smooth and gray.
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