Native Plant of the Month: Black Cherry, Prunus serotina

The Black Cherry tree is a deciduous perennial that grows to 100 feet tall. White flowers form from March through May, followed by red fruit. It loves full sun and fertile well-drained soil. The berries that drop from the tree can stain your driveway, so you may not want to plant it near. When this tree is young, the bark is shiny with small pale stripes. As the tree matures, the bark is darker and scaly.

Black cherry is a larval host plant for several species of butterflies: Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus), Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon), Viceroy (Limenitis archippus), and Red- spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax). Butterflies, moths, and bees love to nectar on the flowers of this tree. The fruit is eaten by songbirds, wild turkeys, quail, white-tailed deer and small mammals.

This tree can be propagated by seed and cuttings. Seedlings for this plant are commonly found in flower beds and are easily transplanted. Berries should be collected when very ripe. Remove the pulp and crack the pit. Provide cold moist stratification for 3 months. Cuttings can be taken in early spring or summer by cutting a 6” section of stem. Remove the leaves from the bottom nodes, dip in hormone powder and place in soil. Keep moist until roots form.

Native Americans used the bark of this tree to make cough syrup. The wood is prized because it is strong and has a fine grain. The Acadiana people refer to this fruit as merisier which is "cherry" in French. The cherries are used to make Cherry Bounce, which is a strong liqueur. I have included my great-grandfather’s recipe. My grandmother served this drink to her friends in cordial glasses. If my sister and I were fortunate, we would get a sip. It was delicious!

Note that only the fruit pulp of the cherries is used to make Cherry Bounce. The pits of fruit in

the Prunus genus contain cyanogenic compounds, so they can be toxic if consumed without further processing.

Photo credit: https://warcapps.usgs.gov/PlantID/Species/Details/980