Florida Forest Trees

Black cherry  (Prunus serotina)

Black cherry is a potentially hazardous tree that has a desirable inner beauty. Black cherry's edible, bitter fruit is used in wine making, to flavor brandies, liqueurs, jellies, or preserves. It is also an important food source for a variety of songbirds and animals, especially in the spring. However, the autumn twigs and leaves are potentially fatal. If eaten, the hydrocyanic acid contained in the reddish plant tissue and inner bark can be a poisonous toxin. When combined with stomach acid, a deadly poison called cyanide is released and can be lethal.

The reddish-brown color of black cherry heartwood resembles mahogany wood and its hard, close-grained characteristics make beautiful furniture, trim, tool handles, veneers, and cabinets. The inner bark contains extracts used for Wild Cherry cough syrup.

Black cherry grows in hardwood hammocks and open areas throughout eastern North America. It ranges from southern Canada to central Florida and as far west as North Dakota and eastern Texas. It is less common from southern New Mexico and western Arizona southward to Guatemala.

Twigs, leaves, and fruit

 Identifying Characteristics
Size/Form:
 Black cherry is a medium tree that reaches heights of 50' to 60' tall.
Leaves:
 The leaves are simple, alternately arranged, and deciduous. The leaves are 2" to 6" long and 1" to 1 ½" wide. The oblong shaped leaves usually have a smooth, dark green upper surface and while the underneath surface is paler with a fuzzy, rusty-red midrib. The leaf base is acute and the leaf tip is acuminate. The margin is finely serrated.
Fruit:
 The fruit is a round, purplish-black drupe, ½" in diameter.
Bark:
 The bark can be seen in three different forms as trees mature. When young, the bark is thin, red-brown, and has elongated horizontal slits. As it ages, the bark becomes furrowed and the slits remain visible. On mature trees the bark is black, thick, and roughly furrowed like alligator skin.
Habitat:
 Black cherry grows in a wide array of habitats along roadways, fences, old fields, and pastures. It is commonly found in rich, moist hardwood hammocks.

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