Bitter Cherry

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iBitter Cherry
Prunus emarginata pits
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Rosaceae Genus: Prunus Subgenus: Cerasus Species: P. emarginata
Binomial name
Prunus emarginata L.

The Bitter Cherry (Prunus emarginata) is a shrub or small tree that can grow to about nine feet tall. It is often found in recently disturbed areas, open woods, and nutrient-filled soil.

[edit] Description

The Bitter Cherry's leaves are thin, oval-shaped, and yellowish-green with unevenly-sized teeth on either side. They range from two to eight centimeters long, and have orange lenticels that taste bitter. The tree has a slender oval trunk with smooth bark that is normally grayish or reddish in color. In the spring it produces small, white clusters of flowers that grow a juicy, dark red fruit that can be up to 12 mm in diameter. The fruits are bitter, which is where the tree's name came from.

[edit] Reproduction

The Bitter Cherry is a monoecious plant, meaning that one tree contains both male and female flowers. While it could be passively self-pollinated to some degree (i.e. by the wind), for the most part it relies on insects to pollinate its flowers.