Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Prunus avium - Sweet Cherry, Bird Cherry, Wild Cherry
Edible Portion: Fruit, Seeds, Leaves - flavouring, Sap
A medium sized tree. It grows to 10-20 m high. It is spreading and loses its leaves during the year. The bark is silver grey and peels in circular strips. The leaves are alternate. The leaves are bronze when they open, turn dark green then change to crimson in autumn. The leaves are oval and double toothed. The upper surface is dull dark green. They are hairy underneath where the veins join. The leaf stalk is red and grooved. The flowers are pink and white. They occur in small clusters. The fruit are small and red-black when ripe. They are 25 mm across. They are sweet and juicy. There are at least 1,000 different forms of sweet cherry.