Prunus virginiana

Pru·nus vir·gi·ni·an·a

1. wild black cherry bark, the bark of Prunus serotina, used as a tonic and in cough mixtures as a bronchial sedative;

2. the choke cherry; the chief substitute and adulterant of Prunus serotina.

A deciduous shrub, the bark of which contains coumarins, cyanogenic glycosides, prussic acid, tannins, and volatile oil; it is antitussive, and an ingredient of cough syrups
Toxicity The pits and leaves contain hydrocyanic acid—which metabolizes to cyanide, causing incoordination, imbalance, possibly death