ROSACEAE 



Black Cherry 



Prunus serotlna, Ehrh. [Padus serotina, (Ehrh.} Agardh.] 



HABIT. A medium-sized tree 40-50 feet high and 8-36 

 inches in trunk diameter ; branches few, large, tortuous, forming 

 a rather spreading, oblong or rounded crown. 



LEAVES. Alternate, simple, 2-5 inches long, about one- 

 half as broad; oval or oblong to oblong-lanceolate; finely serrate, 

 with teeth incurved ; subcoriaceous ; dark green and very lustrous 

 above, paler beneath, glabrous both sides; petioles short, slender, 

 usually bearing 2 red glands near the blade. 



FLOWERS. May-June, when the leaves are half grown ; 

 perfect; Y inch across; borne on slender pedicels in many- 

 flowered, loose racemes 4-5 indies long; calyx cup-shaped, 5- 

 lobed; petals 5, white; stamens 15-20; stigma thick, club-shaped. 



FRUIT. August-September; a globular drupe, Ys-Yz inch 

 in diameter, nearly black, with dark purple, juicy flesh; slightly 

 bitter, edible. 



WINTER-BUDS. Terminal bud about ^ inch long, ovoid, 

 blunt to acute ; scales keeled on the back, apiculate at the apex, 

 light brown. 



BARK. Twigs and branches red to red-brown; young 

 trunks dark red-brown, smooth; blackish on old trunks and 

 rough, broken into thick, irregular plates ; bitter, aromatic. 



WOOD. Light, rather hard, strong, dose- and straight- 

 grained, light brown or red, with thin, yellow sapwood. 



DISTRIBUTION. Frequent in the southern half of the 

 Lower Peninsula, rare in the northern half and the Upper Pen- 

 insula. 



HABITAT. Prefers a rich, moist soil, but grows well on 

 dry, gravelly or sandy soils. 



NOTES. Grows very rapidly in youth, 

 155 



