North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Prunus serotina

Prunus serotina Ehrh.

black cherry, rum cherry, wild black cherry

Image ID: 16508
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: PRSE2
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Prunus serotina
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-12-01

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: PRUNU
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Prunus
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Plum
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 200 species, trees and shrubs, nearly cosmopolitan, but especially in north temperate regions. Liu et al. (2012) make a strong case for combining subgenus Laurocerasus into subgenus Padus.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Rohrer in FNA (2014); Robertson (1974)=Z; McVaugh (1951)= Y; Catling, McKay-Kuja, & Mitrow (1999)=X; Liu et al. (2012); Yazbek & Oh (2013); Shaw & Small (2004); Kalkman in Kubitzki (2004).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ROSACE
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Rosaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Rose Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 85-95 genera and 2000-3000 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, nearly cosmopolitan, but mainly boreal and temperate.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Phipps in FNA (2014); Potter et al. (2007); Eriksson et al. (2003); Kalkman in Kubitzki (2004); Ertter (2007).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS: Pith continuous. Young twigs (1-year-old or less) bronze or brown or gray or green or red or reddish-brown, glabrous. Twigs (2â€“4 years old) glabrous. Leaf scars half-round or oval, bundle scars (2â€“)3 per leaf scar, stipule scars inconspicuous, stipule scars not circumferential, short shoots present, short shoots bearing flowers or bearing leaves. Bark of mature trunks with conspicuous lenticels or flaky or furrowed or plated or smooth. Buds axillary or terminal, reddish-brown, 3â€“4(â€“5) mm long, ovoid, blunt or sharp, bud scales imbricate.
LEAVES: Leaves deciduous, simple, petiolate, alternate, 5â€“15 cm long, 2â€“5.5 cm wide, elliptic or lanceolate or oblanceloate or oblong or oval, leaf margins crenulate or serrate or serrulate, leaf apices acuminate or acute or emarginate or obtuse, leaf bases cuneate or obtuse or rounded. Leaf upper surface green, glabrous or pubescent. Leaf lower surface green, glabrous or pubescent. Leaf venation pinnate. Petioles 1.2â€“2 cm long, glandular. Stipules present, 12â€“20 mm long, caducous, not circumferential.
INFLORESCENCE: Inflorescences terminal, racemes, flowers stalked.
FLOWERS: Flowers bisexual, perigynous. Perianth. Calyx radially symmetric, synsepalous. Sepals 5 per flower, calyx tubes 1â€“1.5 mm long, reflexed, green, deltoid or oblong, sepal margins entire or erose or laciniate, sepal apices acute, glabrous or pubescent, puberulent, persistent. Corolla radially symmetric, apopetalous. Petals 5 per flower, 4â€“6 mm long, spreading, white, obovate or orbiculate or spatulate, petal apices obtuse or rounded, caducous. Androecium. Stamens (15â€“)20(â€“25) per flower, alternating with petals or opposite petals, separate. Gynoecium. Ovaries superior, pistils 1 per flower. Gynoecium monocarpous, 1 carpels per flower, styles 1 per pistil, placentation axile. Other floral features. Hypanthia present.
FRUITS: Fruits drupes, 0.7â€“1.3 cm long, black or purple or red, fruit maturation 1 years.
COMMENTS: Leaves usually with 1 or 2 glands near the point of attachment of petiole and blade; broken twigs with an almond-like odor.
HEIGHT: to 50 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Shrub, Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Radial (Actinomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: March or April or May or June.

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: White.

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Bottomlands, Disturbed, Dry forests, Moist forests
NATIVE RANGE: eastern & central North America

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Average, Well-drained
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
420	SOS	2015-07-09	Heraty	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
753	1985-0404			View
1376	1986-1154			View
3167	1989-0160			View
3812	1991-0507			View
4512	1992-0668			View
4979	1995-0097			View
5827	1995-0954			View
6256	1995-1388			View
8743	2006-0494	2006-11-30		View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
1466	753	154	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
2396	1376	81	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5317	3167	77	NCBG staff	1990-11-30	View
6121	3812	199	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6840	4512	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7398	4979	202	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8341	5827	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
8911	6256	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
11981	8743	81	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: PRSE2
USDA Common Name: Black Cherry
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, AZ, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV), CAN (BC, NB, NS, ON, QC)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACU		FACU		FACU	FACU		FACU	FACU	FACU

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME:
COMMON NAME:
SYNONYMY:
PHENOLOGY:
HABITAT:
COMMENTS:
RANGE MAP:

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Rosaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Rose Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 85-95 genera and 2000-3000 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, nearly cosmopolitan, but mainly boreal and temperate.
REFERENCE: Phipps in FNA (2014); Potter et al. (2007); Eriksson et al. (2003); Kalkman in Kubitzki (2004); Ertter (2007).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Prunus L. (Plum)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 200 species, trees and shrubs, nearly cosmopolitan, but especially in north temperate regions. Liu et al. (2012) make a strong case for combining subgenus Laurocerasus into subgenus Padus.
REFERENCE: Rohrer in FNA (2014); Robertson (1974)=Z; McVaugh (1951)= Y; Catling, McKay-Kuja, & Mitrow (1999)=X; Liu et al. (2012); Yazbek & Oh (2013); Shaw & Small (2004); Kalkman in Kubitzki (2004).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Prunus serotina in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Prunus serotina in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Prunus serotina in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Prunus serotina in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Prunus serotina in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Prunus serotina

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 16508 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 16508 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 18534 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)