Scientific Name:
Prunus padus
Pronunciation:
PROO-nus PAH-duss variety kom-you-TAY-tah
Common Name:
European bird cherry
Family Name:
Rosaceae
Plant Type:
Tree - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Leaves elliptic to obovate, most blades 7-13cm long x 4-7cm wide, margins finely serrate, petioles 2-3cm long, dark red, grooved with 2-4 glands, stipules about 2cm long x 1mm wide; florets white, about 1cm wide, in pendulous racemes 12-18cm long; cherries ripening to black by mid-summer, extremely bitter, <8mm round. Winter ID: twigs glabrous, reddish-brown, lenticels tan elliptical; buds conical, leaf scars crescent shaped to oval.
Habit:
Spreading, Upright
Form:
Round
Texture:
Medium
Mature Height:
10 - 15m
Mature Spread:
10 - 15m
Growth Rate:
Slow
Origin:
Central / west Asia, Europe, S.E. Asia / Japan / China
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 4: (-34 to -29 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate, Low
Landscape Uses:
Attract beneficial insects, Specimen plant, Wildlife food
Additional Info:
Google. Cultivars shown may include P. 'Waterei'. Compare to the Asian bird cherry variety (medium sized faster growing tree that flowers 2-3 weeks earlier than species with 15cm long racemes, and has coarser leaves with crenate margins).
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Summer:
Dark-green
Colour in Fall:
Yellow, Red
Shapes:
Elliptic, Obovate
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Cuneate
Margins:
Serrulate
Inflorescence Type:
Raceme, Floriferous
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Rotate/stellate
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White
Flower Scent:
Fragrant
Flower Time at Peak:
Apr
Fruit Type:
Drupe
Fruit Colour:
Black
Fruiting Time:
Jul, Aug
Bark Morphology:
Smooth
Bark or Stem Colour:
Grey
Leaf Bud Type:
Conical (long-pointed)
Leaf Scar Shape:
Crescent shaped
Propagation:
Seed, Cuttings
Pest Susceptibility:
Aphids or adelgids, Canker or sap rot, Scale insects, Stem borer insects (Rabbit resistant)
Course(s):
- Level 4 Apprenticeship
Location(s):
- (TFL) Turf Field Lab
- (TFLN) Turf Field Lab North