﻿Trecfi of New York Slatx 249 



ROSACEAE 



Pruiius pemisylvanica L. f. 



Wild Red Cherry, Bird Cherry, Fire Cherry, Pin Cherry 



Habit — Usually a shrub or small tree 20-30 feet in height with a trunk 

 diameter of 6-10 inches, imder optimum conditions occasionally 40 feet 

 tall. Trunk short, continuous into the crown. Crown narrowly oblong, 

 somewhat rounded at the top, consisting of slender ascending branches. 



Leaves — Alternate, oblong-lanceolate and occasionally slightly falcate, 3-4i^ 

 inches long, %-l% inches wide, acute or acuminate at the apex, rounded 

 or cuneate at the base, finely serrate with incurved teeth, at maturity 

 bright green, smooth and lustrous above, paler and smooth below, borne 

 on slender, glabrous petioles V>—1 inch long. 



Flowers — Appearing in May or early June when the leaves are about one- 

 fourth grown, perfect, about % of an inch broad, borne on slender pedicels 

 about 1 inch long in 4-.5-flowered, short pedunculate, 2-3-clustered umbels. 

 Calyx-tube urn-shaped, glabrous, S-lobed, the lobes oblong, obtuse, red- 

 margined, reflexed at maturity. Petals 5, creamy white, nearly orbicular, 

 chiAved at the base, inserted with the stamens on the calyx-tube. Stamens 

 about 30, with long filiform filaments and oval anthers. Pistil green, 

 glabrous, consisting of a 1-celled ovary inserted in the bottom of the 

 calyx-tube, a filiform style and broad, simple stigma. 



Fruit — A globose, long-stalked, thick-skinned, light red drupe, about Vi of 

 an inch in diameter, maturing in July and early August. Flesh thin, 

 sour. Stone oblong, apiculate at the apex, thin-walled, slightly com- 

 pressed, ridged on one side. 



Winter characters — Twigs slender, glabrous, bright red and lustrous or 

 partly covered with a grayish, evanescent skin, with prominent, pale lenti- 

 cels. Broken twigs have a characteristic bitter taste and odor. Buds 

 ovate, obtuse, reddish brown, clustered at the twig-tip and sometimes 

 along the sides, about 1/12 of an inch long. Mature bark thin, reddish 

 bro^\Ti, smooth aside from the large, horizontally elongated lenticels. 

 Inner bark bright green. 



Habitat — A " weed ' ' tree widely distributed through seeds scattered by the 

 birds. Occurs in fence rows, abandoned pastures, along road sides and on 

 limestone outcrops. Comes in rapidly in burns and slashes after defor- 

 estation, pro\iding a temporary ground cover until overshadowed by the 

 more important timber species. 



Range — Newfoundland westward to British CoUunbia, southward along the 

 mountains to Georgia and Tennessee, and through the Lake States. Zones 

 A, B, C, and D. 



Uses — Not a timber species. Its chief value lies in its ability to establish 

 itself rapidly after deforestation and forest fires, protecting the soil and 

 acting as a nurse-tree until other larger and more permanent species 

 occupy the site. 



