Wild Cherry

Prunus avium

Plant Data

Order:

Rosales

Family:

Rosaceae (Rose)

Type:

Deciduous tree

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Flower:

White, 5 petals

White, sometimes tinged green, 5 petals and red anthers. Flowers are bunched together.

Fruit:

Numerous small red cherries on long stalks, turning black later.

Leaves:

Deciduous. Oval, pointed, dark green leaves with serrated, or sometimes double serrated leaf margins. The leaf stalks are long and individual leaves can grow up to 12cm long. The leaves in autumn turn yellow, orange and red.

Maximum Size:

30 metres tall

Foraging Notes:

The cherries are edible but very bitter-tasting.
Never consume a wild plant unless you are 100% certain that it is safe to eat and you know that you have identified it correctly.

Aroma:

Flowers are strongly-scented.

Other Names:

Bird Cherry, Cheshire Merry Tree, Crab Cherry, Gean, Hagberry, Mazzard, Suffolk Merries, Sweet Cherry.

Frequency (UK):

Abundant

Habitats:

Gardens, parkland, towns, woodland.