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Black Cherry

Prunus serotina

Summary 2

Prunus serotina, commonly called black cherry, wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous woody plant species belonging to the genus Prunus. The species is widespread and common in North America and South America.

Description 3

Family:
Rosaceae (Rose)

Height:
50 to 100 feet at maturity

Habit:
Single-stemmed tree or large shrub; Crown either narrow and nearly conical in shape, or broad and irregular in shape; DBH up to 4’, typically closer to 2’ at maturity; Fast-growing.

Leaves:
Leaves (up to 4½” long and 2” wide) are alternately attached, ovate to elliptic in shape, and finely toothed, with a somewhat rounded base and slender, sharply pointed tip. Leaf stalks (petioles) are up to 1” long.

Bark:
Mature trunk bark is gray-brown to black-brown and rough-textured, with scaly plates that peel upward at the edges. Younger bark is gray-brown to red-brown and smooth, with conspicuous white lenticels. Twigs are similar in color to younger bark, but often with a waxy, flaking coating.

Flower:
White flowers grow in groups of 20-60 along racemes (2-6” long), which often nod downwards. Individual flowers (⅓-½” across) consist of 5 round, white petals surrounding an orange to red-orange center, which is ringed by 15-22 white stamens with yellow tips.

Fruit:
Fruit is a round, shiny, fleshy, cherry-like drupe (¼-⅓” across) which begins green in color, eventually turning reddish-purple to purplish-black. Fruits contain a single, hard seed.

Bloom time:
May-June

Fall color:
Yellow-orange to Red-orange

Nicknames:
Wild Black Cherry

Habitat:
Black Cherry prefers full sun to partial shade, and moist to slightly dry, fertile, loamy soils, but will tolerate a wide range of soil types. It is commonly found growing in hardwood forests and a variety of other woodlands, savannas, disturbed areas like fencerows and powerline clearances, and in prairies or fields where fire has been suppressed.

Wildlife Benefits:
Flowers are attractive to many species of bees and flies. Nectaries on leaf stalks are attractive to ants, who in turn protect the leaves from other leaf-eating insects. Foliage is a food source for many species of caterpillars and beetles. Fruit is a food source for many species of songbirds, gamebirds, and mammals.

Notes:
The bark, leaves, and seeds of this species are highly toxic to humans.
Twigs, when broken, have a bitter, almond-like scent.
Black Cherry is susceptible to black knot fungus (Apiosporina morbosa), which manifests as bumpy, black, gall-like growths that surround portions of the tree branches.
This species is often mistaken for Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), especially when young.
Black Cherry is a popular species among specialty woodworkers.

References:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/tree/black-cherry
https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/wb_cherry.htm
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/prunus-serotina/
https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/pruser/all.html

Range 3

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, all rights reserved, uploaded by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District
  2. Adapted by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_serotina
  3. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

iNat Map

Family Rosaceae
Flower white
Habit Shrub, Tree
Life cycle perennial
Origin native
Bloom time (5) May, (6) June
*sites Snail Lake
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