Prunus avium
Wild or sweet cherry
Location
Dell entrance and Dell View Path
Description:
A hardy, deciduous tree growing to 15-32 m (50-100 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 1.5 m (5 ft) in diameter, native to Europe and the Meditteranean, and is the main ancestor of the cultivated sweet cherry, with Prunus cerasusis, which became the commercial cultivars of edible cherries. The bark is smooth purplish-brown with prominent horizontal grey-brown lenticels on young trees, becoming thick dark blackish-brown and fissured on old trees. Flowers are produced in early spring with five pure white petals. The fruit is 1-2 cm (0.4-0.8 in) in diameter bright red to dark purple and bitter to eat fresh.
Site and Care:
Grows at its best on clay soils over chalk or limestone, disliking over-acidic soils, in full sun.