OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Rosales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Prunus serotina var. serotina   FAMILY Rosaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Prunus serotina var. serotina   FAMILY Rosaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Prunus serotina var. serotina

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 9 (2014)

Prunus serotina var. serotina

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Prunus serotina var. serotina

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 097-22-011a:

Prunus serotina var. serotina   FAMILY Rosaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN (MISAPPLIED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Padus virginiana

SYNONYMOUS WITH -

Padus serotina

 

COMMON NAME:
Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux    dcp34_p39

        

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm191222_2377_p_serotina

    Clay County    AL

Cheaha State Park

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_607

        

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm0302a_14

February    Greenville County    SC

Lenticels horizontal and conspicuous when the tree is young, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Keith Bradley    kab_prunus_serotina_2060

March    Lexington County    SC

Flowers 7-10mm across, petals white, sepals acute, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Keith Bradley    kab_prunus_serotina_2069

March    Lexington County    SC

Flowers in racemes 3-6" long, terminally or in leaf axils of new shoots, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Roxanna Martin    rlm3161_17

March    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm0104c_24a

April    Greenville County    SC

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm0204f_04

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm0204k_02

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm0204k_04

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm150423_540

April    Sevier County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_prunus_serotina_1

April        

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Roxanna Martin    rlm51608_055

May    Spartanburg County    SC

Leaves are finely toothed, the teeth blunt or callous-tipped, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_prunus_serotina_6

May        MA

Arnold Arboretum

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Stephanie C. Brundage    scb_050122Hayesville01ed

May    Clay County    NC

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Roxanna Martin    rlm62010_40

June    Spartanburg County    SC

Fruit a drupe, dark purple to black, oval, about 3/8" in diameter, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm0307a_31

July    Greenville County    SC

Cherry trees are copious berry producers whose fruits helps sustain birds, per Bringing Nature Home (Tallamy, 2007).

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm160712_020

July    Greenville County    SC

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm160712_023

July    Greenville County    SC

Leaves mostly 2-2.5x as long as wide, slightly acuminate, per Weakley's Flora (2015).

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm160712_028

July    Greenville County    SC

Lower leaf surface glabrous except for tufts or fringes along the midrib, per Weakley's Flora (2015).

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm190801_0369

August    Buncombe County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

JK Marlow    jkm111008_837

October    Jackson County    NC

Balsam Mountain Preserve

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_prunus_serotina_2

October        

image of Prunus serotina var. serotina, Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_prunus_serotina2

November        

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Prunus serotina var. serotina   FAMILY Rosaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Prunus serotina var. serotina   FAMILY Rosaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Prunus serotina var. serotina

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 9
Prunus serotina var. serotina

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Prunus serotina var. serotina

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 097-22-011a:
Prunus serotina var. serotina   FAMILY Rosaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN (MISAPPLIED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Padus virginiana

SYNONYMOUS WITH -
Padus serotina

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1163

Tree
Perennial

Habitat: Rich coves, bottomlands, northern hardwood forests, and in a wide variety of lower elevation habitats from dry to mesic, and weedy in fencerows, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Not armed

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring
White
Radially symmetrical
5 united sepals
5 petals
Superior ovary
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer
Black
Drupe

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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