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Bird Cherry Tree History and Facts

Bird cherry, also known as (Prunus padus), is a deciduous species and is native to Great Britain and much of Europe.

You will often find the tree growing in moist forests, streams, and riverbanks. It is closely related to Prunus avium (wild cherry), but they are easy to distinguish between the two.

Identify a bird cherry tree

A fully grown tree will reach a height of about 25 m. The bark is gray to brown and feels smooth, but peels over time and roughens the surface; it also produces a strange, unpleasantly bitter odour. The branches are dark brown but have light markings; the buds have small hairs but fall off with age.

The leaves are egg-shaped and have small hairs on the tufts below the veins. Unlike the wild cherry, the edges of the leaves are sharply grooved and pointed at the tips, they also have a few tassels near the base of the leaf that nestle into the stem.

Cherry trees have hermaphroditic reproductive systems; this means that the male and female counterparts are found in the same flower. The flowers are white with five petals and have a strong smell, they are about 8-15 cm wide and appear during the month of April.

Insects pollinate the flowers and turn into black to dark red cherries. Unlike the wild cherry, the bird cherry does not produce suckers from the base.

Interesting fact: some people in parts of Yorkshire call the bird cherry ‘wild lilac’ because of its white flower spikes that appear in spring.

Bird Cherry Tree Wildlife

The wildlife associated with the bird cherry is similar to that of the wild cherry, the flowers are a good source of pollen and nectar for small insects and bees, the cherries are eaten by birds of many species including song thrush and also by mammals such as the wood mouse, badger and dormouse.

The caterpillars of many moth species eat the foliage, including the brimstone, short-capped moth, and orchard stoat. On the contrary, the leaves are poisonous to livestock, especially goats.

How we use Bird Cherry

Historically, cherries were grown for fruit and lumber to make vine poles and barrel hoops.

The wood is much lighter with a finer texture than Wild Cherry.

Threats, Pests and Diseases

Like most trees native to Britain, the bird cherry is vulnerable to cankers which can disfigure a tree and usually kill it. If you prune the tree at the wrong time of year, you can cause silver leaf disease, which turns the leaves silver and can also kill the tree if left untreated. Black cherry fly is another pest that can cause dieback.

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