The Black Cherry is a species in the subgenus Padus with flowers in racemes, and is a deciduous tree. 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 southern Quebec and Ontario south to Texas and central Florida, with disjunct populations in Arizona and New Mexico, and in the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala.
The North American Black Cherry
black cherry
Dormant Identification:
Has narrow corky and light, horizontal lenticels on young bark; bark breaks into dark plates and raised edges on older wood described as "burnt cornflakes"; twig has "bitter almond" taste; bark is dark gey but both smooth and scaly with reddish-brown inner bark.
Leaves:
alternate,
simple, shiny dark green top, finely saw-toothed.
Bark: smooth, dark grey.
Fruit: a blackish cherry, turns from dark red.
ID Glossary
