Black cherry, mountain black cherry, rum cherry, wild cherry

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Prunus serotina flowers

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Prunus serotina is a valued hardwood having strong, hard, close-grained wood. It is used for cabinets and furniture, and also for furnishings, handles, toys, and scientific instruments. It also is used for rehabilitation and revegetation of surface mine sites. Livestock can be poisoned by this tree’s foliage when it is stressed and the leaves are wilted due to a concentration of cyangenic glycoside; it also can be poisoned by its twigs, bark and seeds. Its fruits are an important food for birds and wildlife, not being affected by the compound. The plant has been used medicinally, and its fruits to flavor rum and brandy, and to make jellies and wine.

James L. Reveal @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database.

Overview

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Prunus serotina is a single-stemmed, medium- to large-sized, fast-growing, deciduous tree. Flowers are insect pollinated. Flowering generally occurs when the leaves are one-half to fully expanded. Trees can reach maturity at 10 years old. Trees can sprout vigorously from the root crown or stump following disturbance and damage; sprouting vigor diminishes for trees over 60 years old.

Distribution: AL, AR, AZ, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV

Prunus serotina distribution

Variation: Prunus serotina has associated subspecies and varieties, with some of these having overlapping distributions. Many cultivars have been developed in the agricultural and horticultural trade. One report indicates possible chromosome ploidy variation in Tennessee.

Size: Grows to 30-125 ft. (9-38 m) tall; 35-50 ft. (11-15 m) wide; its trunk up to 4 ft. (1.2 m) or more in diameter.

Leaves: Leaves alternate; stipules present, caducous. Leaf blades/lamina simple, thick and leathery, ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 2-8 in. (5-20 cm) long, 1-4 in. (2.5-10 cm) wide; margins serrulate to serrate; apex acuminate to acute; upper surface shiny dark green, glabrous or pubescent; lower surface paler, glabrous to yellowish brown to reddish to white hairs along mid-rib, near base; venation pinnate. Petioles 0.5-0.8 in. (1.2-2 cm) long; glabrous; 1-2 very small inconspicuous glands near point of attachment of petiole and blade.

Inflorescence: A raceme, drooping, on new season’s growth; oblong-cylindric; 3-6 in. (7.6-15 cm) long; more or less 0.6 in. (2 cm) wide; with up to 40 flowers or more; at end of leafy twigs; rachis glabrous to sparse pilose, green.

Flowers: Flowers fragrant. Calyx tube of short lobes, sepals/lobes 5, narrow triangular, 0.04-0.06 in. (0.1-0.15 cm) long, green; petals 5, obovate or orbiculate, spreading, 0.1-0.2 in. (0.3-0.6 cm) long, 0.1 in. (0.3 cm) wide, white, clawed, claw 0.04 in. (0.1 cm) long, blade cupped, margins entire to slightly erose, borne at the rim of a hypanthium; hypanthium campanulate to cupulate, 0.08 in. (0.2 cm) in diameter; stamens 15-25, alternating or opposite of petals, varying lengths, borne at rim of hypanthium; pistil 1, carpel 1, style 1, stigma capitate; pedicels glabrous, green, 0.1-0.2 in. (0.3-0.6 cm) long.

Fruit: Drupe, fleshy, globose; 0.3-0.5 in. (0.7-1.3 cm) in diameter; obovoid, purplish-black to black when ripe; 1-seeded. Bitter-sweet taste.

Seed: Oblong-ovoid stone; 0.2-0.3 in. (0.6-0.8 cm) long; black.

Bark: Young bark is thin, smooth, silvery to reddish-brown to nearly black, with conspicuous, elongate, horizontal lenticels. Larger, older trees have thin, fissured and scaly bark, becoming very dark; plates have a distinctive curling between fissures. Twigs reddish-brown, with pronounced bitter almond odor; older twigs glabrous.

Roots: It has a shallow and spreading root system. Most of the roots occur within 24 in. (61 cm) of the soil surface, with occasional roots reaching depths of 36-48 in. (90-120 cm).

Habitat: Prunus serotina is commonly found in mesic woods on nearly all soil types, in forest openings, old fields and fencerows. In the southwestern U.S. it is confined to canyons, valleys and rich bottomlands. It is not tolerant of shade, with many seedlings dying from lack of light. In some canopy situations, saplings repeatedly die back to the stem base and resprout. Occasionally small-sized trees can persist for 40-60 years until the canopy opens.

Phenophases

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Use this field datasheet to record your observations for this species

Leaf Out First leaf
In at least 3 locations on the plant, the very first green tip of a young leaf has visibly moved out of the leaf bud.
Flowering

First flower
In at least 3 locations on the plant, a flower has opened completely. Flowers are considered ‘opened’ when the reproductive parts are visible between unfolded or opened flower parts.

Last flower
The last visible flower has opened completely and is still fresh.

Leaf Elongation

75% leaf elongation
The majority of young leaves have unfolded completely and have expanded to three-quarters (75%) of their mature size. Leaf elongation may also be estimated by viewing the canopy as a whole. At 75% leaf elongation, the canopy appears to be approximately three-quarters (75%) full.

This measure can be difficult to estimate without a few seasons of practice.

Fruit Ripening First fruit ripe
In at least 3 locations on the plant, a fruit has become ripe. In Prunus serotina, a fruit is considered ripe when it is black in color, when it has dropped from the plant, or when it has been eaten by wildlife.
Leaf Color Change

50% of leaves colored
For the whole plant, half (50%) of the leaves (including any that have fallen to the ground) have changed to their late season colors.

All leaves colored
For the whole plant, virtually all (95-100%) of the leaves (including any that have fallen to the ground) have changed to their late season colors and there is virtually no green left in the leaves.

If drought seems to be the cause of leaf color change for a plant, please make a comment about it for that plant.

Leaf Fall

50% of leaves fallen
For the whole plant, half (50%) of the leaves have fallen.

All leaves fallen
For the whole plant, virtually all (95-100%) of the leaves have fallen.

If drought seems to be the cause of leaf color change for a plant, please make a comment about it for that plant.

Timing of growth

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Germination: Spring.

Flowering: March-July, depending on location.

Bud break/Leaf out: March-June.

Leaf/canopy development: *Need info.

Fruit development: Spring to summer.

Fruit ripening: June-October, depending on location. Fruit maturation can vary as much as 3 weeks within the same stand/population.

Seed dispersion: June-October; fruits fall shortly after ripening.

Images

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Whole plant:

Bark:

Leaf:

Colored leaves:

Buds:

Inflorescence:

Flowers:

Fruit:

Seeds :

Bibliography

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Notes

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The USDA PLANTS symbol for this plant is PRSE2.
The ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. for this species is 24764.

BBCH codes for phenophases used for this plant are available from the USA-NPN office upon request.

Proposed modifications, updates or corrections to this protocol are welcome; please direct correspondence to the USA-NPN National Coordinating Office.

Prior versions of this species protocol will be made available in a documents library on USA-NPN webpage.

Document history: V0.2(core) 04/02/08

Protocol compiler: Patty Guertin

Reviewers: Lisa Benton