{"id":106,"date":"2025-09-24T16:43:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T20:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/?p=106"},"modified":"2025-09-25T17:19:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T21:19:26","slug":"black-cherry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/black-cherry\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Cherry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns sidebar is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50rem\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><em><em>Prunus serotina<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">Black cherry is a deciduous tree widely distributed in the United States. Though not closely related to other cherry species known for producing fruit, black cherry produces edible fruits in late summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group boxout has-light-green-background-color has-background is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Location<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>If you take a walk from the Hidden Spring Trail and cut across down to Larch Lane, you might be able to spot some. Or, take a walk along Magnolia Trail and see if you can find any in the distance.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50rem\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"846\" height=\"564\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/black-cherry-leaf-846x564-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-109\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/black-cherry-leaf-846x564-1.jpg 846w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/black-cherry-leaf-846x564-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/black-cherry-leaf-846x564-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 846px) 100vw, 846px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:4rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull section-intro has-light-warm-gray-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-stretch is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"background-image:url(&apos;https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/black-cherry-tree-846x564-1.jpg&apos;);background-position:50% 50%;background-size:cover;\" class=\"wp-block-group padded lifted has-white-background-color has-background wp-container-content-69bc4bdf is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:25.625rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group padded has-charcoal-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c5e4746963165611dbfc0cd8428e81fa is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">History at Hadwen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"intro has-medium-font-size\">Black cherry is first documented in the arboretum in 1882 as one of the original species planted by Hadwen. It was documented again in a tree survey from 1971. Interestingly, it is not documented in a survey conducted seven years later in 1978. It is unclear whether the black cherry trees actually were absent by this time or simply omitted from the report. Regardless, they can now be found in multiple places in the arboretum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group section is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div style=\"color:var(--clarku-color-green)\" class=\"eyebrow  has-text-align-left\">Keep learning<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Detailed species information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Black cherry, sometimes known as rum cherry or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree in the family Rosaceae. This species can be found widely throughout the midwestern, southern, and eastern United States as well as parts of Mexico. Typically fast-growing, the black cherry reaches 50\u201375 feet (15\u201322 meters) in height and up to 3 feet (1 meter) in trunk diameter. The bark of young black cherry is slightly shiny, red-brown, and features small horizontal lenticels typical of many cherry species. Mature black cherry trees have extremely broken, dark bark. The long, ovate leaves are finely serrated, shiny, and a rich green color as well as being alternately arranged on the stem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fall, the leaves of the black cherry change into reds, oranges, and yellows. The five-petal flowers of the black cherry are small, white and grow in clusters. Small, dark red drupes (berries) emerge from these flowers in late summer. The wood of the black cherry is fragrant and said to resemble the scent of almonds when twigs are broken or scratched. This is due to the small amounts of cyanide contained in the plant as a defense against herbivory. The black cherry is a pioneer species so it is often found growing in cleared areas such as fields and forest edges. It is an important source of food for wildlife with its fruits being popular among birds and leaves among deer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite its common name, the black cherry is not closely related to commonly cultivated cherries such as sweet cherry or sour cherry but is closely related to chokecherry (P. virginiana). The fruits of the black cherry are edible and were an important food source for many tribes of Native Americans. The timber of the black cherry is highly prized and the orange-toned wood is the premier in cabinetry in the United States. It is also sometimes used as an ornamental tree. In parts of Europe, the black cherry is now highly invasive after its introduction for use in landscaping.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prunus serotina Black cherry is a deciduous tree widely distributed in the United States. Though not closely related to other cherry species known for producing fruit, black cherry produces edible fruits in late summer. Location If you take a walk from the Hidden Spring Trail and cut across down to Larch Lane, you might be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":109,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trees"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Black Cherry | Hadwen Arboretum | Clark University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/black-cherry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black Cherry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prunus serotina Black cherry is a deciduous tree widely distributed in the United States. 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