366 TREES IN WINTER 



WILD RED CHERRY 



Bird, Fire, Pin or Pigeon Cherry 



Prunus pennsylvanica L. f. 



HABIT — A shrub or small tree generally under 30 ft. in height with 

 trunk diameter of 8-10 inches; trunk erect generally continuous into 

 crown with slender branches arising at a rather sharp angle, forming a 

 rather narrow oblong open head. The trees growing in the open about 

 otorrs have in general a narrower outline than the tree photographed. 



BARK — Bright reddish-brown, for the most part smooth, often slight- 

 ly peeling in transverse strips especially toward the base of the trunk 

 and in old trees somewhat roughened; inner bark on young branches 

 bright green. LENTICELS — conspicuous, horizontally elongated, lens- 

 shaped, orange colored and powdery on the surface. 



TWIGS — Slender, generally less than 2 mm. thick, often less than 

 1.5 mm. thick, smooth, bright red and shining, more or less covered with 

 a gray skin easily rubbed off; bitter aromatic. LENTICELS — scattered, 

 pale to bright orange colored, becoming slightly elongated horizontally 

 and more conspicuous on older growth. PITH — brown, narrow. 



L.EAF-SCARS — Alternate, more than 2-ranked, semi-oval, raised. 

 STIPULE-SCARS — back of leaf-scars, generally indistinct or absent. 

 BUNDLE-SCARS — 3, the central larger one often alone distinct. 



BUDS — Minute, generally under 3 mm. long, blunt-pointed, ovate, 

 reddish-brown, smooth, often partially covered with a grayish skin, 

 divergent, on rapidly grown shoots characteristically clustered at the 

 tips as well as scattered, with the terminal bud present but generally 

 smaller than those in the cluster around it; also clustered buds at ends 

 of short fruiting spurs; collateral accessory buds sometimes present. 

 BUD-SCALES — ovate, often notched and short-pointed, not readily dis- 

 tinguished as separate scales with the naked eye. 



FRUIT^ — A drupe about the size of a pea, ripening in summer in short 

 clusters or with stalks arising from a common point on the stem, 



COMPARISONS — The appearance of the bark and the taste of the 

 twigs show the Wild Red Cherry to belong to the Cherry group. It 

 differs from the other cherries in its very slender twigs and small buds 

 which are constantly clustered at the tips even of rapidly grown shoots. 

 The Wild Black Cherry when tree-like is further distinguished by its 

 scaly bark. The powdery bright reddish-orange lenticels on young 

 and even old trunks form a striking character but a similar color 

 may occur in the lenticels of the other Cherries especially if the outer 

 surface is rubbed off. 



DISTRIBUTION — Roadsides, clearings, burnt lands, hill slopes, occa- 

 sional in rather low grounds. From Labrador to the Rocky mountains, 

 through British Columbia to the Coast Range; south to North Carolina; 

 west to Minnesota and Missouri. 



IN NEW ENGLAND — Throughout; very common in the northern 

 portions, as high up as 4,500 ft. upon Katahdin, less common southward 

 and near the seacoast. 



WOOD — Light, soft, close-grained, light brown, with thin yellow sap- 

 wood of little commercial importance. 



