British Native Trees
and Shrubs

Wild Cherry or Gean Prunus avium (Rosaceae)

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.

A Shropshire Lad
A. E. Housman

This is the original cherry, forerunner of the cultivated varieties and a deciduous, white-blossomed tree which is attractive throughout the year. It grows to about 25 m in height, often less, and in winter shows off its shining, grey or reddish-brown bark banded with rough, orangey-brown breathing pores. On mature trees the bark peels off in horizontal strips. The greyish-brown twigs have alternate russet-brown buds and in April and May they release long-stalked, slightly drooping, ovate to elliptic leaves up to 15 cm long with toothed margins and downy beneath. The leaves are initially bronze before turning green and in autumn the foliage can change to beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red-brown. The fragrant clusters of two to six, cup-shaped, five-petalled white flowers on long, grooved stalks bloom at the same time as the leaves unfurl, often covering the crown in blossoms before the leaves are fully open. Small, shiny fruits, up to 1.2 cm across, ripen in July and August through yellow and bright red to dark purplish-red. The taste may be sweet or bitter, but to ensure there is a crop of cherries there must be two or more trees planted because they are self-sterile.

Wild cherry is found in lowland woods, often in the under-storey layer of oak woods, on fertile, often base-rich, soils throughout England.

It is one of our most attractive native woodland trees, suitable for gardens of all sizes where it prefers full sun but will tolerate light shade. It requires moist, well-drained soil, preferably neutral to alkaline. Prunus avium is, however, prone to surface rooting so they should not be planted where the roots might cause problems, such as in lawns and beside paths and paving.

The hard, golden brown wood, often tinged with green, is valued for making furniture, veneers, turned bowls and wood sculpture.

Wild cherry is propagated from seed gathered at the same time as the birds arrive to feed on the fruit. With the flesh removed, the stones should be stored in moist sand until the following spring when they can be sown in nursery beds. Thin out as necessary and plant in permanent position when four to five years old.

Pollinating bees flock to the nectar when it flowers. The cherries are larger than most British wild fruits and above the upper size limit for smaller birds. Robins cannot eat them, but they are enjoyed by larger species such as warblers, starlings and wood pigeons. The leaves are eaten by forest bugs, one of our large shield-bugs, and by the caterpillars of several species of moths. The leaves are galled by the same fungus which causes peach-leaf curl.

Page last updated - January 10, 2002  

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