ABSTRACT
Like other youngsters in western Kentucky, I grew up nibbling the fruits of Prunus serotina. Although they are somewhat bitter, to a boy they were pleasant, and helped slake thirst during a hard day spent exploring the woods and fields. The more sinister side of the plants was completely unknown until a neighbor’s horse decided to sample a wilted branch. Although I was not yet a teenager, the vivid image of that dying animal is still burned in my memory. Later, I learned that it was the release of hydrocyanic or prussic acid (cyanide) that killed the poor creature. My friends and I became more cautious of the fruits, even though our reading about them revealed that they were a significant food to indigenous Americans, and the bark was one of their important medicines.
