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What is this tree?

Posted by cmonkey none (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 29, 12 at 14:01

We have some trees growing on our property that have little black berries all over them, all in various stages of ripening.

I have a feeling I know what family they belong to, but would like some opinions as to what it is?

The main tree : http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt314/hacket68/The Garden/GEDC070 4.jpg

The berries/leaves : http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt314/hacket68/The Garden/GEDC070 5.jpg

Thanks for any help!


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: What is this tree?

kinda hard on those pix ....

prunus serrotina .. wild black cherry.. among its many names.. i call it the furniture cherry ...

the fruits are very bitter.. and apparantly the birds eat them.. and spread them EVERYWHERE.. i kill them by the thousands every spring...

younger bark is very ID'able ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link


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RE: What is this tree?

Yes, Prunus serotina.

Dax


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RE: What is this tree?

When well-grown, under close spacing in forest setting, among the very highest quality hardwoods.

+oM


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RE: What is this tree?

I thought it was wild black cherry from my research...thank you for confirming it! We have a ton of these trees and they are all at least 50 feet tall.


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RE: What is this tree?

If it should happen to be that some of these are more "forest-grown" than the one in the pic, that is, having straight, branch-free trunks, you've got some valuable timber. I don't know if this still holds, but long ago, I learned that (at that time) there was only one county in one state-Pennsylvania-where black cherry was both common enough and of sufficiently high quality to enable it to be harvested as a high-quality furniture-grade species.

I've got a smattering of them up on my land, but they're nothing to write home about.

+oM


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RE: What is this tree?

Actually, all the ones in the back are very tall, straight and have very few branches. They are in bunches and surrounded by dogwood and other brush.

I wonder if I'd be able to have someone come out and give me a quote....On the other hand I'm not sure I'd enjoy cutting them down. They are very beautiful. :) hmm...


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RE: What is this tree?

  • Posted by beng z6b western MD (My Page) on
    Mon, Jul 30, 12 at 11:31

***
ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 29, 12 at 14:16

the fruits are very bitter.
***

Ken, on my small black cherry the fruits are surprisingly sweet (but still w/the strong flavor) when allowed to ripen to softness. The birds usually get 'em before that, tho.

Many yrs it has no cherries, like this yr.


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RE: What is this tree?

Cmonkey, despite my previous words, by no means am I telling you you need to harvest them! Sound like some nice trees.

+oM


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