cherry

cherry, any of various trees belonging to the genus Prunus and their edible fruits. Commercial cherry production includes tart cherries (Prunus cerasus), which are frozen or canned and used in sauces and pastries, and sweet cherries (P. avium), which are usually consumed fresh and are the principal type preserved in true or imitation maraschino liqueur. A number of species, hybrids, and cultivars are grown as ornamentals for their prolific spring flowers, and the dark red wood of some cherry species is especially esteemed for the manufacture of fine furniture.

Most cherry species are native to the Northern Hemisphere. Some 10 to 12 species are recognized in North America and a similar number in Europe. The greatest concentration of species, however, appears to be in eastern Asia. The native habitat of the species from which the cultivated cherries came is believed to be in western Asia and eastern Europe from the Caspian Sea to the Balkans. Cherries are grown in all areas of the world where winter temperatures are not too severe and where summer temperatures are moderate. They require winter cold in order to blossom in spring. The trees bloom quite early in the spring, just after peaches and earlier than apples.

Three types of cherries are mainly grown for their fruits, which are fleshy drupes (stone fruit): sweet cherries, tart cherries, and, grown to a much smaller extent, the dukes, which are crosses of sweet and sour cherries. The sweet cherry fruit measures about 2 cm (1 inch) in diameter and varies in color from yellow through red to nearly black. The acid content of the sweet cherry is low. The higher acid content of the tart cherry produces its characteristic sour flavor. The fruit is generally dark to bright red in color and has so much acid that it is not appealing for eating fresh. The duke cherries are intermediate in both tree and fruit characteristics. The fruits of all varieties provide vitamin A and small amounts of such minerals as calcium and phosphorus.

In Asia, particularly Japan, cherry varieties have been selected for the beauty of their flowers, and most of them do not set fruit. Although members of the genus Prunus typically have flowers with five petals, many ornamental cherries have been developed to produce double blooms with numerous petals. Beautiful ornamental cherry trees are featured in many gardens and after about 1900 were widely disseminated throughout the moderate-temperature areas of North America and Europe. The Japanese flowering cherries around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., were presented by the mayor of Tokyo in 1912; the majority of those trees are Yoshino cherry (Prunus ×yedoenis). Other popular ornamental species include weeping cherry (P. subhirtella, variety pendula), autumn-flowering cherry (P. subhirtella, variety autumnalis), Kwanzan cherry (P. serrulata ‘Kwanzan’), Sargent cherry (P. sargentii), and Takesimensis cherry (P. takesimensis).

In the United States, cherrywood used in furniture making is typically from black cherry (Prunus serotina). The wood of sweet cherry is also used.