Details

The Black Cherry is the largest of the native cherry trees on favorable sites these trees can reach heights of 100 feet but the average is 50-60 feet. The bark is smooth with many short, narrow, horizontal lenticels when the tree is young which turn almost black as the tree ages and breaks up into small, rough, upturned plates. The leaves are 2-5 inches long; alternate and simple. They are oblong to lance-shaped. The flowers are white and hang in narrow clusters 4-6 inches long; flowers appear in spring. The fruit is dark purple, almost black when ripe, 1/3 inch in diameter with a bitter sweet taste. The fruit matures in late summer.

Thickets, woodlands, and lower riparian slopes in moist, well-drained soil.

The Black Cherry is very important for wildlife. In addition to providing nesting sites to birds the fruit of the Black Cherry is eaten by a variety of mammals and birds. The Black Cherry reproduces both sexually by seeds and asexually by root suckering and sprouting. Black Cherry trees can live at least 250 years in its native range.

Much of the eastern half of North America; from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to central Florida and Texas and in the mountains of Central America from Mexico to Guatemala.

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=66 http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/habichat13.pdf http://wildflower.utexas.edu/plants/result.php?id_plant=PRSEE http://www.nobanis.org/files/factsheets/Prunus_serotina.pdf