Is this wild black cherry?

[Dajolu]

I think I have identified this tree in my yard as a wild black cherry. I’m interested in harvesting the fruit and maybe making a Jam or Pie. I would like to get some opinions before I try eating the fruit though.

 

[bigealta]

I'd say yes. I have a few in my yard. Don't know about eating the fruit?

 

[stoveliker]

Yes. ANd I've never eaten the fruit.
The birds get there before I could. I'm not sure how sweet they are tho.

 

[Dajolu]

Yes. ANd I've never eaten the fruit.
The birds get there before I could. I'm not sure how sweet they are tho.

Yea the birds and the racoons seems to love the fruit.

 

[River]

I will vote choke cherry, though I am not very familiar with that variety. Anyway, the bark does not look like black cherry, to me.

 

[bigealta]

Don't think it's choke cherry. I have those in Utah. They grow pretty knarly scaly bark even with the small trees which have usually twisted trunks and they don't get very big at my elevation (5,250Ft). They also seem to grow in clumps of smaller diameter trees.

 

[patrickk222]

YES or a chokecherry .... youll tell which is whic when and if it gets older

 

[Dajolu]

Ok I came across this :

Foraging Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

Wild Black cherry (Prunus serotina) are absolutely delicious, and one of the best wild fruits available anywhere. They taste more or less exactly like cultivated sweet cherries (though they're smaller), and can be harvested over

practicalselfreliance.com

I think I’m pretty confident I have a black cherry after reading that. He goes into the difference between black cherry and choke cherry,

 

[MongoMongoson]

I eat some black cherries every year. My wife thinks they are awful. I think they are fine. Not very sweet, somewhat astringent. I think if they are cooked some of the astringency might go away. I just eat them off the tree, so I have never made jam or anything.

 

[bigealta]

Now i'm gonna go out and try some black cherries.

 

[Heart Rot]

I'm thinking a young black cherry... The bark gets rougher as they age. The tree I tried here had a pretty high seed-to-fruit ratio so you may need to pick a lot to be able to do much with... and use a food mill to make it easier to separate the pits from the flesh.

As others have stated, the birds get them pretty quick after they ripen, so you may need to harvest quickly once ripe, depending on your local bird population.

 

[30WCF]

If you have an iPhone, there is an icon under the info button on the pic that will look it up for you.
Its not always right and you may get different answers depending on the picture angle and quality.

pin cherry Archives - Eat The Weeds and other things, too

www.eattheweeds.com

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I think I have identified this tree in my yard as a wild black cherry. I’m interested in harvesting the fruit and maybe making a Jam or Pie. I would like to get some opinions before I try eating the fruit though.
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It is not a typical black cherry from east of the Mississippi. The bark doesn't look like that.