2. Native Flora Garden

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

Versatili-tree

This native species is the tallest of all the cherries—it can easily attain 80 to 100 feet in height. Prized for its fine-grained reddish-brown wood, which polishes to a nice finish, black cherry has long been used for veneers, paneling, furniture, musical instruments, and even the handles of hairbrushes. Early pioneers added the fruit to brandy, wine, or rum to make a cordial they called "cherry bounce," and this clever invention earned the tree its nickname rum cherry. The black cherry's bark is thought to have amazing curative qualities: It is still used today in cough syrups.

Black cherry trees produce spikes of small, fragrant white flowers. (Photo by Romi Ige)

Flora Loves Fauna

This black cherry tree is thought to predate the Garden, making it at least 100 years old. Despite its age and obvious decline, the tree continues to fulfill one of the prime roles of black cherries by being a haven for wildlife. Although the tree's cherries are too bitter for most human tastes, raccoons, cottontail rabbits, white deer, squirrels, songbirds, ruffled grouse, and pheasants love them. The feeding fauna do the black cherry a favor in return: The seeds pass through the animals' digestive systems and end up distributed far and wide.

Notable Neighbors:

• 2A. Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
• 2B. Black tupelo, sour gum (Nyssa sylvatica)
• 2C. Common persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
• 2D. English oak (Quercus robur)
• 2E. Dove tree, handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata)
• 2F. Carolina or Canadian poplar (Populus x canadensis)

Black cherry fruits turn black by the time they fully ripen in August, but birds and other animals start sampling them well before. These cherries were photographed in midsummer. (Photo by Julie Walton Shaver)

Here is the black cherry tree in early spring, before its flowers and leaves have appeared. (Photo by Romi Ige)