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Wild Red Cherry Prunus pennsylvanica 



If the wild red cherry were a longer-lived tree it would be 

 splendid for decorative planting. Its profusion of early 

 bloom and the great number of bright red fruits make it 

 exceedingly attractive. In favorable places it attains a 

 hieght of 30 feet and a trunk diameter of 10 inches. The 

 oblong or lance-shaped leaf-blades are from 3^ to 5 inches 

 long, and finely, but doubly, toothed on the margins. In 

 April or May the tree is a riotous mass of bloom, the flowers 

 being arranged several in a cluster. The 5 petals are some- 

 what broader upward than toward the center of the flower. 

 The round fruits are smooth and bright red, being much 

 eaten by birds, although the flesh is bitter and rather thin. 

 Imbedded in it is the round and slightly rigid stone. 



On account of its soft wood the wild red cherry is little 

 used except for fuel. It grows from Newfoundland to 

 Georgia and westward, and is common along the Hudson, 

 particularly northward. 



The common sweet cherry {Prunus Avium) is often found 

 growing wild in the eastern states, presumably spread by 

 birds. The plant is a native of Europe. 



Wild Cherry Padus serotina 



The arrangement of the flowers of the wild cherry and 

 the choke cherry is very different from those of the other 

 cherries and plums. Those previously mentioned all have 

 their flowers arranged in clusters with the individual flower- 

 stalks arising several in a bunch. In the wild and choke 

 cherry there is a general flower-stalk, rather long, and at- 

 tached to this are numerous small individual flower-stalks. 

 The flower cluster is thus oblong and contains from 3.0 to 40 

 flowers or even more. 



The wild cherry is often 80 feet in height with a trunk 

 covered wtih dark red-brown bark. The oblong-oval leaves 

 are from 2 to 5 inches long and taper-pointed at the tip. 

 Along the margins the leaf-blade is toothed and the teeth are 

 distinctly incurved. The white flowers cover the tree in May 



