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Prunus avium

Common name:	Wild Cherry	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 17, 200
Synonyms:	Cerasus sylvestris (Lund.), Cerasus nigra (Mill.)
Known Hazards:	Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, it belongs to a genus where most, if not all members of the genus produce hydrogen cyanide, a poison that gives almonds their characteristic flavour. This toxin is found mainly in the leaves and seed and is readily detected by its bitter taste. It is usually present in too small a quantity to do any harm but any very bitter seed or fruit should not be eaten. In small quantities, hydrogen cyanide has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion, it is also claimed to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer. In excess, however, it can cause respiratory failure and even death.
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa and W. Asia.
Habitat:	Better soils in hedgerows and woods, especially in beech woods[5, 17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Cerasus avium[B,G,P] Cerasus avium var. aspleniifolia[G] P. avium var. aspleniifolia[G] P. cerasus var. avium[G] P. macrophylla[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Cerezo [E], Cherry Stalks [H], Ciliegio Selvatico [E], Gean [H,L], Mazzard [S,H,L], Sweet Cherry [B,E,P,DEN1,L], Wild Cherry [H,L], Zoete Kers [D],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Italy Spain Us

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 18m by 7m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant not is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy.

Cultivar 'Colt': Woodland, Sunny Edge.
Cultivar 'Kristin': Woodland, Sunny Edge, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.
Cultivar 'Stella': Woodland, Canopy, Secondary, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Fruit Gum Seed.

Fruit - raw or cooked[2, 12, 13]. It can be sweet or bitter but it is not acid[11]. The fruit can be cooked in pies etc or used to make preserves. The fruit contains about 78% water, 8.5 - 14% sugars[74]. The fruit is about 20mm in diameter and contains one large seed[200].
Seed - raw or cooked. Do not eat the seed if it is too bitter - see the notes above on toxicity.
An edible gum is obtained by wounding the bark[115, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antitussive Astringent Diuretic Tonic.

The fruit stalks are astringent, diuretic and tonic[4, 7, 238]. A decoction is used in the treatment of cystitis, oedema, bronchial complaints, looseness of the bowels and anaemia[4, 238].
An aromatic resin can be obtained by making small incisions in the trunk[7]. This has been used as an inhalant in the treatment of persistent coughs[7].
Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, all members of the genus contain amygdalin and prunasin, substances which break down in water to form hydrocyanic acid (cyanide or prussic acid). In small amounts this exceedingly poisonous compound stimulates respiration, improves digestion and gives a sense of well-being[238].

Other Uses

Dye Tannin Wood.

A green dye can be obtained from the leaves[168].
A dark grey to green dye can be obtained from the fruit[168].
The bark usually only contains small amounts of tannin, but this sometimes rises to 16%[223].
Wood - firm, compact, satiny grain. Used for turnery, furniture, instruments[46, 100, 115].

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained moisture retentive soil[1, 11]. Succeeds in light shade but fruits better in a sunny position[11, 200]. Thrives in a loamy soil, doing well on limestone[11]. Prefers some chalk in the soil but apt to become chlorotic if too much is present[1].
A very ornamental plant[1], it is fast growing on deep moist soils[11] but is shallow rooting[98].
Trees cast a light shade and are themselves intolerant of heavy shade[186]. They produce quite a lot of suckers and can form thickets, especially if the main trunk is felled[186].
This species is a parent of many cultivated forms of sweet cherries[17, 34], especially the black fruited forms[11]. Where space is at a premium, or at the limits of their climatic range, sweet cherries can be grown against a wall. Most cultivars will grow well against a sunny south or west facing wall though east or north facing walls are not very suitable[219]. The main problems with growing this species against a wall are firstly that it is usually completely self-sterile and so there needs to be space for at least two different cultivars[186], secondly it is very vigorous and so is difficult to keep within bounds[219].
Most members of this genus are shallow-rooted and will produce suckers if the roots are damaged[238].
An excellent tree for insects[24] and the fruit is a good food source for birds.
A bad companion for potatoes, making them more susceptible to potato blight[201], it also suppresses the growth of wheat[18]. It also grows badly with plum trees, its roots giving out an antagonistic secretion[201].
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - requires 2 - 3 months cold stratification and is best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe[200]. Sow stored seed in a cold frame as early in the year as possible[200]. Protect the seed from mice etc. The seed can be rather slow, sometimes taking 18 months to germinate[113]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Grow them on in a greenhouse or cold frame for their first winter and plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel, July/August in a frame[11, 200].
Softwood cuttings from strongly growing plants in spring to early summer in a frame[200].
Division of suckers in the dormant season[98]. They can be planted out direct into their permanent positions.
Layering in spring.

Cultivars

'Stella': The first good quality, self-fertile black sweet cherry[183]. The fruit is large, but is fairly susceptible to cracking in wet weather[183]. The flesh is black, medium firm, relatively coarse[183]. A productive, upright spreading tree, it is a good pollinator for other sweet cherry cultivars[183].
'Mazzard': Used as a rootstock for cherry trees, it produces well-anchored, standard-size trees[183]. Many of the roots are shallow, resulting in damage from deep cultivation and drought[183]. It is compatible with most sweet and sour cultivars[183]. It is moderately resistant to oak-root fungus and less susceptible than 'Mahaleb' to peach tree borer[183]. It is especially recommended for soils that are too heavy for 'Mahaleb'[183].
'Kristin': The large heart-shaped fruit is about 25mm in diameter[183]. The skin is tender, dark purplish-black, the flesh sweet, firm, meaty and juicy[183]. A crack-resistant fruit, it ripens in mid-July in northern USA[183]. A productive, very winter-hardy tree, it has been tested for 12 years in Norway[183].
'Colt': A hybrid, P. avium x P. pseudocerasus[183]. This rootstock produces trees that are 47 - 55% the size of trees on Mazzard seedlings[183]. It is more precocious in its first 2 years of bearing than F12/1[183]. It induces heavy production[183]. Trees on Colt have wider crotch angles than trees on Mazzard seedling and are greatly reduced in vigour when grown in heavy soils[183]. Susceptible to winter cold injury[183].

Suppliers

Plants For A Future is working with the following groups to try and make these plants easily available. Parts of the proceeds will be donated to so please mention us when ordering.

Cool Temperate Nurseries: 10 Ivy Grove
Nottingham
NG7 7LZ
Email: philcorbett53@hotmail.com
Phone 0115 847 8302 Fax 0115 847 8302
Distribution: UK
How to order: Direct from Cool Temperate by email/phone
Notes: Many Trees supplied on their own rootstock
Last Updated: April 03
Item: Prunus avium (Cherry)
Varities: Vega, Merchant, Cherokee (Lapins), Stella, Nabella
Item: Prunus avium (Wild Cherry)

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden.
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[34] Harrison. S. Wallis. M. Masefield. G. The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press 1975
Good drawings of some of the more common food plants from around the world. Not much information though.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[98] Gordon. A. G. and Rowe. D. C. f. Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs.
Very comprehensive guide to growing trees and shrubs from seed. Not for the casual reader.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[186] Beckett. G. and K. Planting Native Trees and Shrubs. Jarrold 1979
An excellent guide to native British trees and shrubs with lots of details about the plants.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[201] Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers Ltd. 1993 ISBN 0-304-34324-2
A well produced and very readable book.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

[223] Rottsieper. E.H.W. Vegetable Tannins The Forestal Land, Timber and Railways Co. Ltd. 1946
A fairly detailed treatise on the major sources of vegetable tannins.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

Readers Comments

Plant Passporting

Rich (michael@thewitchshaven.com) Wed Sep 26 16:58:15 2001

This information has been taken from DEFRA Guide to Plant Passporting. Which places restrictions on plants which can be traded in the UK and the EU mainly because they are carriers for pests and diseases.

Beta vulgaris (Beet), Chaenomeles (Ornamental quince, Japonica), Citrus (Orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, etc.), Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster), Crataegus (Hawthorn), Cydonia (Quince), Eriobotrya (Includes loquat), Fortunella and hybrids (Kumquat), Humulus lupulus (Hop (including ornamentals)), Malus (Apple (including ornamentals)), Mespilus (Medlar), Poncirus and hybrids (Ornamental citrus), Prunus (other than Prunus laurocerasus and Prunus lusitanica) (Includes almond, apricot, cherry, damson, greengage, nectarine, peach, plum, sloe and ornamental/flowering varieties), Pyracantha (Firethorn), Pyrus (Pear (including ornamentals)), Solanum (stolon or tuber forming types) (Potato), Sorbus (other than Sorbus intermedia) (Includes rowan and whitebeam), Stranvaesia (Stranvaesia), Vitis (Grape, includes grape vine and ornamental grape).

Many other plants require pasporting for commercial growers, these include Abies, Allium ascalonicum, Allium cepa, Allium porrum, Allium schoenoprasum, Apium graveolens, Plants of the family Araceae, Argyranthemum, Aster, Brassica, Castanea, Capsicum annuum, Cucumis, Dendranthema, Dianthus and hybrids, Euphorbia, Exacum, Fragaria, Gerbera, Gypsophila, Helianthus annuus, Impatiens (all varieties of New Guinea hybrids), Lactuca, Larix, Leucanthemum, Lupinus, Lycopersicon lycopersicum, Plants of the family Marantaceae, Medicago sativa, Plants of the family Musaceae, Nicotiana, Pelargonium, Persea, Phaseolus, Picea, Pinus, Platanus, Populus, Prunus laurocerasus and Prunus lusitanica, Pseudotsuga, Quercus, Rubus, Plants of the family Solanaceae (other than plants of stolon or tuber forming species of Solanum and their hybrids), Solanum melongena, Spinacia, Plants of the family Strelitziaceae, Tanacetum, Tsuga, Verbena.

Cross references: Plants: Beta vulgaris, Humulus lupulus. Genera: Chaenomeles, Citrus, Cotoneaster, Crataegus, Cydonia, Eriobotrya, Fortunella, Malus, Mespilus, Poncirus, Prunus, Pyracantha, Pyrus, Solanum, Sorbus, Stranvaesia, Vitis.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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