Family: Rosaceae
wild black cherry
Aaron_Carlson
Paul Drobot
University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)
Etymology: Prunus: ancient Latin name for the plum
Plants: perennial tree
Hazardous: The leaves of this plant contain cyanide and are therefore poisonous. Conservation Status: Native
Plants: perennial tree
Hazardous: The leaves of this plant contain cyanide and are therefore poisonous. Conservation Status: Native
One of our most common trees and found in a wide variety of all but the swampiest forests including with oak, oak-maple, pine-aspen, pine, pine-oak, oak-hickory, sugar maple-basswood, sugar maple-beech, hemlock-white cedar, sugar maple-hemlock, mixed conifers, aspen-birch, hackberry-walnut-elm, silver maple-willow-ash, elm-red maple-ash. Also found along roadsides and railroads, on rock outcrops, invading fields and prairies, thickets, bluffs and ridgetops, pine relicts, fencerows and disturbed areas, marsh borders, farmyards, cedar glades, Lake Michigan dunes.
- large trees
- branches lacking spines
- pair of glands at top of petiole (base of blade)
- elongate raceme with 12-20 or more flowers
- leaves ovate to elliptic or lanceolate, widest at or below the middle, glossy above
- margins crenulate - the teeth incurved
- sepals glandless or with at most 2-4 glands
- rust-colored hairs along the midrib on the underside of the leaves
Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 3, Wetland Indicator = FACU USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos University of Wisconsin - Green Bay: Trees: Photos, descriptions, information USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS): Images of seeds, fruits, embryos, etc. Virginia Tech Dept. of Forestry, College of Natural Resources: detailed description and photographs Purple Sage - Ethnobotanical Information: Detailed usage, preparation, and other helpful information Landscape Plants of the Upper Midwest; UW-Extension: Interactive guide providing information on cultivation including: soil, zone, growth rate, landscape uses, pruning, light requirements; with photos and Latin name pronounciation
Paul Drobot
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