How to identify cherry trees (wild and ornamental)

The genus *Prunus* includes cherries, plums, peaches, and almonds -- all stone-fruit trees with broadly similar features. Within the cherry group, the common North American species range from large forest trees (black cherry) to shrubby thickets (chokecherry) to small spring-blooming ornamentals..

The genus Prunus includes cherries, plums, peaches, and almonds — all stone-fruit trees with broadly similar features. Within the cherry group, the common North American species range from large forest trees (black cherry) to shrubby thickets (chokecherry) to small spring-blooming ornamentals. Three features work together to ID any cherry tree: the distinctive horizontal lenticels on young bark, the simple leaves with finely serrated margins and small glands at the base, and the round stone fruits (drupes).

Genus-level identification

Lenticels: Per Penn State Extension, horizontal lenticels — elongated, often pale, dash-like markings — on young, smooth bark are characteristic of all Prunus species. On black cherry, they appear as narrow, horizontal lines. On ornamental Japanese cherries, they are broader and more prominent. On older bark, the smooth zone disappears as bark fissures, but young branches and the upper trunk still show lenticels.

Bitter almond smell: Scratch a young twig or the inner bark. Prunus species contain compounds that break down to release a characteristic bitter almond or maraschino cherry scent. Per NC State Extension, this smell is produced by hydrocyanic acid (prussic acid) in the foliage and bark — present in sufficient concentration to be toxic to livestock that consume wilted leaves.

Simple, alternate leaves: All cherry leaves are simple (not compound), alternate, and have finely serrated margins. Most species have one or two small glands (nectaries) at the top of the petiole or at the base of the leaf blade — visible as tiny bumps or dots. Per Missouri Botanical Garden, these petiolar glands are useful in species separation.