Prunus pensylvanica

Pin Cherry

Pin Cherry, BWCAW
Photo © by Earl J.S. Rook

Flora, fauna, earth, and sky...
The natural history of the northwoods

Name:

• Prunus, from the Latin
• pensylvanica, from the Latin, "of Pennsylvania"
• Common Name from the small fruits
• Other common names include Fire Cherry, Bird Cherry, Wild Red Cherry, Northern Pin Cherry, Pigeon Cherry, cerisier de Pennsylvanie (Qué), pilvikirsikka (Fin)

Taxonomy:

• Kingdom Plantae, the Plants
  • Division Magnoliophyta, the Angiosperms (flowering plants)
    • Class Magnoliopsida, the Dicotyledons
    • Subclass Rosidae, the Roses
      • Order Rosales, the Roses
        • Family Rosaceae, the Roses; with Amelanchier (Juneberries), Aronia (Chokeberries), Crataegus (Hawthorns), Malus (Apples), Physocarpus (Ninebark), Potentilla (Cinquefoils), Rubus (Blackberries, Dewberries, and Raspberries), Sorbus (Mountain Ash), and Spiraea (Spirea)
          • Genus Prunus, the Cherries & Plums
• Taxonomic Serial Number: 24799

Description:

• A small desiduous tree to 30' tall, 1' in diameter. Trunk straight, with narrow, rounded crown; in the open, it has a short trunk with a flat-topped crown; the crown is much reduced in the shade of a forest.
• Leaf alternate, simple, lanceolate, finely serrated margin, 3"-5" long, 1"-1 1/2" wide. Fall color bright red orange.
• Flower small and white in flat-topped clusters of 5 to 7.
• Fruit a red drupe, 1/4" in diameter, ripening late June to July, very sour. Stones and leaves contain toxic cyanide, but the flesh is not harmful.
• Twigs slender, glabrous, reddish-brown; buds are small (1/8") reddish brown and clustered at the branch tips. Twig has a mild bitter almond taste.
• Bark lustrous, shiny, red brown, with long horizontal orange lenticels; may peel off in horizontal strips.
• Roots: deep widespreading laterals
• Fast growing and short lived.

Identification:

Distribution:

• Newfoundland to southern Mackenzie District and British Columbia, south to Montana and Colorado, the Black Hills, Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey; northeast to New England.

Habitat:

• Dry to moist open forests and clearings; commonly after fire or other disturbances.
• Because the berries are a favourite of many birds, it is often difficult to find ripe fruit on the trees.

Fire:

Associates:

History:

• Pin cherries were eaten by several First Nations peoples, depending on their local abundance, but the cherries did not dry well. They also used the bark for decorating baskets.

Uses:

• Pin cherries make good jelly.

Reproduction:

• Reproduces by seed and vegetatively by suckers.
• Seed dispersal by animal consumers
• Seeds require cold stratification to break dormancy

Propagation:

• By seed, following cold stratification.

Cultivation:

• Hardy to USDA Zone 3 (average minimum annual temperature -40ºF)
• Cultivars and species available by mail order from specialty suppliers or at local nurseries
• Soil pH: 6.1 to 7.5
• Transplants with difficulty.

Links:

• Fire Effects Information System (FEIS)
• Prunus pensylvanica Poisoning, a technical survey

Comments:

• One year, while waiting at Round Lake for the outfitter to come to pick us up at the end of a trip, I collected a handful of berries from a large, mature Pin Cherry at the landing. After stratification of the seed I ended up with several seedlings, one of which became a 10' tree in its second season and is now thriving in the garden, a living reminder of that trip.