Black cherry
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Description
A deciduous, fruit-bearing tree, Prunus serotina, native to North America. Black cherry has a dense, close-grain wood that polishes to a high gloss. The reddish-brown wood is used for musical instruments, furniture, cabinetry, interior trim, and paneling. Black cherry gum, a water-soluble carbohydrate, has been used as a medium for watercolor paints.
Synonyms and Related Terms
Prunus serotina; cerezo americano, capulí (Esp.); ciliegio americano (It.); cabinet cherry; rum cherry; wild black cherry; black cherry gum
Physical and Chemical Properties
- Medium tree growing to 30 m with tall oblong crown.
- Bark= smooth with narrow horizontal lenticels when young breaking into rough irregular plates with age
- Leaves=alternate simple oblong (6-14 cm) with serrated edges.
- Fruit=dark purple round drupe (1 cm) maturing in late summer.
Additional Images
Black cherry (Prunus serotina)
radial section
Black cherry (Prunus serotina)
tangential section
Black cherry (Prunus serotina)
transverse section
Resources and Citations
- R.J. Adrosko, Natural Dyes in the United States, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1968
- G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 184
- Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)
- F. H. Titmuss, Commercial Timbers of the World, The Technical Press Ltd., London, 1965
- Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996
- Virginia Tech Dendrology website at www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/main.htm (Accessed Dec. 9, 2005)
- Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_serotina (Accessed Dec. 9, 2005)
- Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
- The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998