Is this Black Cherry?

John G

John G

Joined
Jul 4, 2008
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I spotted this today, but I'm not sure if it's edible. It seems to fit the book description of Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), but the fruits aren't growing in what I would call "elongated clusters." :confused:

Any help from the more experienced?

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The tree is about the right size accoring to the books I have (50-60 feet tall), and is growing on the edge of an open field. Also, the tree is less than twenty feet from a creek.

Thanks for any help!:)
 
I don't know if it's black cherry but the fruit is edible and quite good for making preserves. I used to have one in my backyard.
 
The leaves appear shiny, but not glossy. The bark is papery, sort of like birch, but much darker.
 
It isn't black cherry or chokecherry as those have a bunch of cherries along a one stem. If it tastes like cherry [it certainly looks like it] eat and enjoy !
 
John G said:
The leaves appear shiny, but not glossy. The bark is papery, sort of like birch, but much darker.
Click to expand...

Well Wild Cherry or Black Cherry have a birch like bark when they are younger like this.



Then when they get older their bark is easy to identify. Like in this pic.



Like Mete said, usually you find a group of cherries on one stem.(about 4 or so) But its a bird favorirte so who knows. Your 3rd pic looks right to me, but I can't be certain. Either way, it looks edible to me, enjoy:)
 
looks edible to me!

look sweet and cool on a hot summer day.

if squirrels and birds are eating them I's put big money on them being safe to eat :)
 
It looks like a black cherry to me. You may have to compete with the birds. Around here they can pick a tree clean within a few days of the fruit getting ripe.
 
The bark of a mature black cherry is dark almost black and flaky. Think burnt thick potato chips. The leaves look a bit off for black cherry, at least for the ones I see in NE Ohio. Fruits sure looks like cherry though.
 
Leaves look wrong for black cherry (too light and "teeth" too large") but right for domestic cherry tree.

Around here, mature black cherry bark is very dark and exfoliated, as johnG and the firefox describe.
 
It's hard to tell but I think I see an identifier of cherry. At the base of the leaf where the stem meets it, it should have 2 small nodes on the stem. That last pic is blurry but I think I see them. Found a pic:
Black_Cherry_Leaves.jpg
 
Bing cherries have an interesting history, it seems. Starting as a cultivated tree in the northwest. I wonder how the two I discovered wound up here in the northeast? Planted, or are they escapes?

Whatever they are, the cherries taste amazing!
 
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