Chokecherry - Good for anything?

[Matt Ocel]

We had storms yesterday and a client had the top of a Chokecherry break off. He now is going to cut it down. It is approx. 25 ft tall and I can't get my arms wrapped around the trunk.
He said its mine if I want it.

Is A Chokecherry worth slavaging? or is it firewood?

[John Shuk]

Chokecherry is the cherry that you usually see out there as lumber. It is a wonderful wood and you should glom up every bit of it.

[Gary Herrmann]

Do you turn? Its great for that too. I have some, would love to have more. So ditto what John said.

[Matt Ocel]

Well now - I'm getting pretty exited!:)

Thinkin about it now, the tree that fell on his house is an Ash. I might have to grab that also.

Gary - I don't turn but if your in the area I'll have it up here dryin, and your welcome to a couple a chunks.

[Jacob Reverb]

Chokecherry is the cherry that you usually see out there as lumber. It is a wonderful wood and you should glom up every bit of it.

Yep, I just recently learned that the trees my late father always called "chokecherry" with such disdain are actually the BLACK cherry that he so loved to build furniture from! True "chokecherry" is much more of a bush than a tree...

[John Keeton]

We call them "wild cherry." The big fear from horse people and cattle farmers is that when one blows down, if the cattle or horses feed on it they can become very ill or die. Webworms love em!

At 25', it may not have a lot of heartwood, but probably still worth the effort.

[Matt Ocel]

Thanks Guys -

Jacob-
After googling it looks like it probably is a Black cherry.

John-
25 ft is what is left standing, it was maybe 40 to 50ft before the top snapped off. Whats left standing is pretty straight.

[Jason Roehl]

You guys are killing me here. All I know is that my (paternal) grandmother used to make a chokecherry syrup that was out of this world on pancakes. I haven't had it in years, but I remember it tasted nothing like cherries. I don't remember anything about the trees they came off of, but they were on her farm just west of Watauga, SD (almost on the ND border in the western part of the state).

[Jack Camillo]

I had several black cherries get beat up bad in a hurricane several years ago. Cut them down, had them sawed into 4/4plus, 5-7 in wide, and am still building furniture from it. It's the most beautiful wood, and I particularly like the edges with some sap wood.