Late last month, in recognition of Arbor Day, the Independence Tree Board passed out 50 chokecherry saplings at Riverside Park. Shown here, Twila Brooks Hawthorn, a State-certified arborist, handed an Independence resident a sapling during the event. The chokecherry, or bitter-berry, can grow 20 to 30 feet tall and clusters of white flowers give way to red fruit in the late summer. The fruit of the tree can be made into preserves and jelly.