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Black Cherry

Prunus serotina

Summary 4

Prunus serotina, commonly called black cherry, wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a woody plant species belonging to the genus Prunus. This cherry is native to eastern North America: from eastern Canada through southern Quebec and Ontario; south through the eastern United States to Texas and central Florida; with disjunct populations in Arizona and New Mexico; and in the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala.

In the Garden 5

Black cherry is found in the Thain Family Forest and around Twin Lakes.

Description 6

Black cherry is a medium-sized, fast-growing forest tree growing to a height of 50-80 feet. Leaves are 2" to 5" in length, ovate-lanceolate in shape, with finely toothed margins. Fall leaf color is yellow to red. Flowers are small, white and 5-petalled, in racemes 4" to 6" long which contain several dozen flowers. The flowers give rise to edible reddish-black "berries" (drupes).

A mature black cherry tree can easily be identified in a forest by its very broken, dark grey to black bark, which has the appearance of very thick, burnt cornflakes. However, for about the first decade or so of its life, the bark is thin, smooth, and banded, resembling that of a birch. It can also quickly be identified by its long, shiny leaves resembling those of a sourwood, and by an almond-like odor released when a young twig is scratched and held close to the nose.

Ecology and cultivation 6

Prunus serotina is a pioneer species. In the Midwest, it is seen growing mostly in old fields with other sunlight-loving species, such as black walnut, black locust, and hackberry. Gleason and Cronquist (1991) describe P. serotina as "[f]ormerly a forest tree, now abundant as a weed-tree of roadsides, waste land, and forest-margins." It is a moderately long-lived tree, with ages of up to 258 years known, though it is prone to storm damage, with branches breaking easily; any decay resulting, however, only progresses slowly. Seed production begins around 10 years of age, but does not become heavy until 30 years and continues up to 100 years or more. Germination rates are high, and the seeds are widely dispersed by birds who eat the fruit and then excrete them. Some seeds however may remain in the soil bank and not germinate for as long as three years. All Prunus species have hard seeds that benefit from scarification to germinate (which in nature is produced by passing through an animal's digestive tract).

P. serotina is also a host of caterpillars of various Lepidoptera (see List of Lepidoptera which feed on Prunus). The eastern tent caterpillar defoliates entire groves some springs.

Prunus serotina was widely introduced into Western and Central Europe as an ornamental tree in the mid 20th century, where it has become locally naturalized. It has acted as an invasive species there, negatively affecting forest community biodiversity and regeneration.

Prunus serotina subsp. capuli was cultivated in Central and South America well before European contact.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Danny Barron, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/56398280@N00/2439095761
  2. (c) Jason M Crockwell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Jason M Crockwell
  3. Jaknouse, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prunus_serotina_bark_small.jpg
  4. Adapted by bkmertz from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_serotina
  5. (c) bkmertz, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
  6. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_serotina

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