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Portrait of Bird cherry

Nature · Trees

Bird cherry

Native · deciduous, to 25 m · flowers April · wet woods and streamsides, north and west

Prunus padus — Rosaceae

Bird cherry is the cherry of northern Britain, common in northern England and Wales and along wet woodland, hedgerows and river banks. Unlike wild cherry it carries its heavily scented white flowers in long hanging racemes, followed by bitter black fruit. Its bark smells unpleasantly acrid when scratched.

How to know it

Whole tree of Bird cherry
Whole tree Udo Schröter · CC BY 3.0
Leaf of Bird cherry
Leaf Joanna Boisse · CC BY-SA 4.0
Bark of Bird cherry
Bark Stefan.lefnaer · CC BY-SA 4.0

How to spot them

  • ▸Flowers in long hanging racemes, white and heavily almond-scented, in April
  • ▸Leaves finely and sharply toothed, with tufts of hairs under the vein joints and two glands on the stalk
  • ▸Smooth greyish-brown bark with an unpleasant acrid smell
  • ▸Small bitter fruits ripening reddish-black
  • ▸No root suckers, unlike wild cherry

How to know it

Hanging spikes of scented white flowers that smell of almonds, on a cherry of northern streamsides

Bird cherry — flowers in racemes.

A cherry whose bark gives off an unpleasant acrid odour

Bird cherry.

Finely and sharply saw-toothed leaves with hair tufts in the vein axils beneath, and two glands on the stalk

Bird cherry; wild cherry has coarser teeth and no hair tufts.

Bitter reddish-black fruits that make liqueur or wool dye, on a tree which does not sucker

Bird cherry.

Its foliage is toxic to livestock, particularly goats, though orchard ermine caterpillars feed on it

Bird cherry.

Placed at the door, its strong-smelling bark was once thought to ward off the plague; also known as hagberry

Bird cherry (Prunus padus).

Quick-fire facts

  • •Prunus padus grows to 25 m; the Woodland Trust names hagberry, hogberry and black dogwood as other common names
  • •It is common in northern England, Wales and parts of East Anglia but rarer in the south, especially the south-west
  • •Wet woodland, hedgerows and river banks are its typical habitats
  • •Wild cherry has flowers in small clusters and coarser leaf teeth; bird cherry has racemes and does not sucker
  • •The flowers smell of almonds and the nectar makes good honey
  • •The bark yielded a reddish-brown dye once used to colour fishing nets; the fruit dyes wool
  • •Foliage is toxic to livestock, particularly goats
  • •Caterpillars of orchard ermine, brimstone and short-cloaked moths feed on it

Drill it — 7 cards

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Sources