Also called "Wild cherry" and "Rum cherry," Black cherry is a tall tree reaching heights of 80 ft. It is widespread and the most important native cherry species. The foliage and bark have a pungently bitter odor and taste.

BUDS: Ovoid with sharp, pointed bud scales.

TWIGS: Slender with dense pale lenticels; reddish to olive brown colored; hairless.

BARK: On young trees its is olive/red brown and smooth; on older trees it becomes black and fissured--"cornflake" bark.

HABITAT: Grows on many, non-extreme soil types.

RANGE: Nova Scotia to Lake Superior, south to Florida, west to North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas, through Mexas, along the Pacific coast of Central America to Peru.

USES: Valuable wood is used for furniture, and paneling; bitter cherries are used in jelly, wine, and other alcoholic beverages; bark is used to make cough syrup, for it yields hydrocyanic acid which is sometimes used as a sedative.