THE BIRD CHERRY OR WILD RED CHERRY 



THE Wild Red Cherry, which is also commonly called the Bird Cherry, is one of 

 the most beautiful and distinctive species of the great Rose family. At first 

 sight the young trees remind one of Peach trees, the slender leaves that clothe 

 the long twigs having a very marked resemblance to those of the Peach. These leaves are 

 bright, shining green above and lighter below, while their margins are finely and sharply 

 serrate. During the latter part of summer the trees commonly present a very attractive 

 appearance when the small, globular, brilliant-red cherries are seen against the background 

 of green foliage. These cherries ripen during a long period, and are eaten freely by a great 

 variety of birds although they are so sour that they are not attractive to human taste. 

 Before falling in autumn the leaves commonly turn a distinct reddish color. 



After the leaves have fallen the tree still presents a rather attractive and character- 

 istic appearance. It seldom attains a large size, rarely exceeding twenty-five or thirty 

 feet in height and eight inches in trunk diameter, and having a slender outline due to the 

 rather erect habit of growth of the branches. The bark of the young twigs is smooth and 

 shining, of a reddish-brown color more or less spotted with round, brownish dots. The 

 buds are rather small with loosely imbricated scales, the leaf -buds and flower-buds com- 

 monly being found side by side upon the twig. On the larger trees the bark of the trunk 

 is of a dark brown or reddish color, more or less covered with horizontal lines and often 

 having fine scales peeling off the outer surface. The branches and the trunks of the younger 

 trees are very smooth and shine distinctly in the sunlight. 



It is in early spring, however, that the Bird Cherry presents its most beautiful 

 appearance. Soon after the white blossoms of the Shadbush have begun to mark the 

 hillsides and the river banks, the dense masses of wonderful bloom appear along the twigs 

 of the Bird Cherry. They are in leafless clusters, each cluster consisting of several small 

 flowers that arise from a short, broad base. The flowers have the structure typical of 

 the Plums and Cherries, and are freely visited by a great variety of insects. They have 

 a distinct and rather pleasing odor, and during the few days of their existence they render 

 the trees the most beautiful and conspicuous objects in the landscape. 



The Bird Cherry is essentially a Northern species, extending from the far North 

 south to Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Iowa. 



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