Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
Estimated Height at Pickup: 5-6’, 3 gal
A heavy hitter for wildlife support! Generally adaptable, fast growing, and flowers- and fruits!- from a young age. Hosts many caterpillars, berries are profuse and valued many birds, and flowers support a variety of bees. Mature trees are sizable, but cast bright shade easy to establish understory in. Hosts the red spotted purple, coral hairstreak, and eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies!
Pollination: 2+ individuals needed.
Light: Full Sun, Part Sun/Shade
Soil Moisture: Wet Mesic, Mesic, Dry Mesic
Soil Type: Loam, Sandy Loam, Rocky Loam
Height: 50’-80’
Width: 30’-60’
Bloom Color: White
Bloom Time: Apr-May
Fruit: Many small black drupes mature in mid summer.
Fall Color: Yellow, Orange
Root Type: Taproot
Notable Wildlife Interactions: Flowers attract many bees and flies. Extra-floral nectaries attract insects such as ants and wasps. Hosts the red spotted purple, coral hairstreak, and eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies moths such as the promethea and scalloped sallow, some beetles, and a few smaller insects. Fruits are eaten by a wide variety of animals including tanagers, woodpeckers, orioles, bluebirds, squirrels, foxes, and chipmunks. Commonly browsed by deer.
Notes: Flowers are fragrant but often too high off the ground to smell. Often only thought of as a colonizer species since it is quick to reseed where birds spread it, but mature trees can be a climax species. Fruits, bitter, but technically edible, can be made into jams and have been used in the brewing of brandy and whiskey. Wood is valued in the timber industry for its beauty and strength.