Black cherry or Prunus serotina is a 3 to 4 inch greenish yellow to gold leaf that will leave a bitter taste if nibbled. The cherries are eaten by wildlife and used by man - who make jelly or wine. Black cherry syrup, made from the bark, is often used in cough remedies. It lives throughout the eastern United States.
The above photo has a high intensity red and orange leaf and is could be fire cherry or Prunus pensylvanica. The leaf is a bit longer and narrower than black cherry but lives much further north and into Canada. It rarely grows off the Appalachian plateau and into the mid-South.
