Castle Howard Arboretum Trust - Furniture Makers Trees

Botanical name: Prunus avium

Family: Rosaceae

Common Name: Wild Cherry

Habitat and Distribution:

Natural distribution throughout British Isles except Northern Scotland. Also most of Europe, N. Africa and W. Asia. Any fertile soil but prefers rich, none acid soils. Found in woods, hedgerows, gardens and parks in most of Europe, also cultivated and naturalised en eastern N. America.

Description:

A deciduous tree, to 25 metres (80 ft) with pointed, sharply serrated leaves, bronzed at first then turning dark green. In autumn the leaves turn yellow and red.

The white, 5 petalled flowers 2.5 cm (1 in) across are borne in clusters and open in mid April. These are followed by glossy red, turning black cherries, which are about 2 cm across. The fruits may be sweet but are often bitter.

The bark is reddish brown and clearly marked by lenticels in horizontal lines and broken by large cracks.

The trees can reach an age of up to 200 years.

Timber:

The wood is fine grained, smooth and slightly oily. The colour varies from a pale pinkish to light golden brown with a hint of green.

Unlike the American variety this timber is not renowned for its commercial availability, the best wood comes from old forest growths; orchard growths generally only produce small yields.

Uses:

This is a decorative wood that has found its way into many fine pieces of furniture and cabinets. Its tendency to warp leads to its being used in smaller sections. Some solid wood and radial sliced veneers are used in decorative panelling and it is often found in old cottage doors mixed with other fruit woods. Cherry turns well and is used for fancy knobs and similar applications.

Good firewood with fragrance of blossom as it burns.

The black fruit are edible. Birds quickly strip fruit from trees.

Various parts have been used in traditional folk medicine to treat bronchitis, catarrh, whooping cough, nervous cough and dyspepsia.

A commercial liqueur, "kirsh" is produced from the cherries.