Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Rosales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Prunus serotina var. serotina
FAMILY
Rosaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Black Cherry at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
In the Piedmont and Coastal Plain, P. serotina is generally a small, scrubby tree of fencerows and an understory tree in forests and woodlands, but in the Mountains reaching large sizes and full canopy stature. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Prunus serotina var. serotina
FAMILY
Rosaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Prunus serotina var. serotina
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 9 (2014)
Prunus serotina var. serotina
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Prunus serotina var. serotina
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 097-22-011a:
Prunus serotina var. serotina FAMILY Rosaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN (MISAPPLIED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Padus virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH -
Padus serotina
COMMON NAME:
Black Cherry, Eastern Wild Black Cherry, Bird Cherry
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p39
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JK Marlow jkm191222_2377_p_serotina
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_607
)
JK Marlow jkm0302a_14
February Greenville County SC
Lenticels horizontal and conspicuous when the tree is young, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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Keith Bradley kab_prunus_serotina_2060
March Lexington County SC
Flowers 7-10mm across, petals white, sepals acute, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
Keith Bradley kab_prunus_serotina_2069
March Lexington County SC
Flowers in racemes 3-6" long, terminally or in leaf axils of new shoots, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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Roxanna Martin rlm3161_17
March Spartanburg County SC
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JK Marlow jkm0104c_24a
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0204f_04
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0204k_02
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0204k_04
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm150423_540
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_prunus_serotina_1
April
)
Roxanna Martin rlm51608_055
May Spartanburg County SC
Leaves are finely toothed, the teeth blunt or callous-tipped, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_prunus_serotina_6
May MA
Arnold Arboretum
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Stephanie C. Brundage scb_050122Hayesville01ed
May Clay County NC
)
Roxanna Martin rlm62010_40
June Spartanburg County SC
Fruit a drupe, dark purple to black, oval, about 3/8" in diameter, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0307a_31
July Greenville County SC
Cherry trees are copious berry producers whose fruits helps sustain birds, per Bringing Nature Home (Tallamy, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm160712_020
July Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm160712_023
July Greenville County SC
Leaves mostly 2-2.5x as long as wide, slightly acuminate, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm160712_028
July Greenville County SC
Lower leaf surface glabrous except for tufts or fringes along the midrib, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm190801_0369
August Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm111008_837
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_prunus_serotina_2
October
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_prunus_serotina2
November
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Prunus serotina var. serotina
FAMILY
Rosaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Prunus serotina var. serotina
FAMILY
Rosaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Prunus serotina var. serotina
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 9
Prunus serotina var. serotina
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Prunus serotina var. serotina
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 097-22-011a:
Prunus serotina var. serotina
FAMILY
Rosaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN (MISAPPLIED)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Padus virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
-
Padus serotina
1163
Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Rich coves, bottomlands, northern hardwood forests, and in a wide variety of lower elevation habitats from dry to mesic, and weedy in fencerows, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Not armed
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
White
Radially symmetrical
5 united sepals
5 petals
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Black
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p306
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p076
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p201
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p243
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p153
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p178
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p196
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p074
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p294
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p314
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p38
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p298
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p145?
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p120
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p39
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p254
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p257
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