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Cherry tree #572232

Asked June 20, 2019, 9:27 AM EDT

This cherry tree grew voluntarily, can you tell me the type of cherry tree it is and if the cherries are edible? I live in Clackamas County. Thanks!

Multnomah County Oregon

Expert Response

It could be a volunteer cherry from a dropped cherry pit, so it would be hard to identify. Most would be edible, though maybe not as tasty as more cultivated varieties.

The common native cherries to Oregon are the Bitter Cherry and Choke cherry. Bitter Cherry is most easily identified by its reddish brown, or gray bark with horizontal lenticels (raised pores that allow for gas exchange through the bark). The leaves are small, (3-8cm), finely toothed and rounded at the tip. The flowers are white or pinkish in a flat-topped cluster. Bitter Cherry fruits are bright red, about 1 cm in diameter. Chokecherry, P. virginiana, a species that is common on the east side of the Cascades, has long, narrow flower clusters and darker, purple to black cherries. The bitter cherry as the name implies is not particularly edible, however the chokecherry is. Both are terrific wildlife food sources.

Here are some publications you may find useful:

https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/prunus-emarginata

http://nativeplantspnw.com/bitter-cherry-prunus-emarginata/

Hope this helps!

Chris Rusch Replied June 21, 2019, 12:45 AM EDT

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