ROSACEAE 
Black Cherry 
Prunus serotina Ehrh, [Padus serotina (Ehrh.) Agardh.] 
HABIT.—A medium-sized tree 4o-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; #4 inch across; borne on slender pedicels in many- 
flowered, loose racemes 4-5 inches long; calyx cup-shaped, 5- 
lobed; petals 5, white; stamens 15-20; stigma thick, club-shaped. 
FRUIT.—August-September; a globular drupe, 14-14 ‘inch 
in diameter, nearly black, with dark purple, juicy flesh; slightly 
bitter, edible. 
WINTER-BUDS.—Terminal bud about %4 inch long, ovoid, 
blunt to acute; scales keeled on the back, apiculate, light brown. 
BARK.—Twigs and branches red to red-brown; young 
trunks dark red-brown, smooth ; biackish on old trunks and 
rough, broken into thick, irregular plates; bitter, aromatic. 
WOOD.—Light, rather hard, strong, close- 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 
Peninsula. 
HABITAT.—Prefers a rich, moist soil, but grows well on 
dry, gravelly or sandy soils. 
NOTES.—Grows very rapidly in youth. 
; — 155 — 
