| General Information |
| Common Name | Wild Cherry, Sweet Cherry, Gean |
| Scientific Name | Prunus avium |
| Sun Tolerance | Full Sun |
| Height | 6-9 m (20 - 30 ft) |
| Spread | 4.5 -6 m (15 - 20 ft) |
| Growth Rate | Fast |
| Bloom Time | Early Summer |
| Color | Green |
| Flower Color | White |
| Type | Tree |
| Native | Europe, USA |
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| Classification |
| Kingdom | Plantae – Plants |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta – Vascular plants |
| Superdivision | Spermatophyta – Seed plants |
| Division | Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants |
| Class | Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons |
| Subclass | Rosidae |
| Order/ | Rosales |
| Family | Rosaceae – Rose family |
| Genus | Prunus L. – cherry |
| Species | P. avium |
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| Prunus avium - Wild Cherry |
Prunus avium common name is Wild Cherry also known as Sweet Cherry or Gean. It is to be found sparingly in mixed woodlands as a moderate-sized tree, or occasionally as a tall tree of open habit, the lower branches spreading but the remainder ascending steeply.
The twigs are greyish-brown, and the winter buds are alternate, brown, and pointed on short spur shoots. The pale green, 2 – 3 inch long elliptical leaves, which droop somewhat on fairly long stalks, have finely toothed margins and are without hairs on the upper surface, but downy below. They turn brilliant crimson in autumn.
The white, sweetly scented, bi-sexual, self-sterile flowers, with long, slender stalks, are cup-shaped and borne in clusters (umbels) of from two to six in April-May.
The fruit (a cherry) is small and shiny, changing from green through bright red to purple when ripe in July, the taste is sweet or bitter, never acid.
The bark is grey or reddish-brown, smooth and shiny, ringed with orange-colored lenticels, and peels horizontally in thin strips. In older trees the lower bark becomes rough and furrowed. The attractive wood is golden or even greenish-brown, rather heavy, tough and hard. It is a good furniture timber, and is prized as a turnery wood for such items as bowls.
Foresters value Gen as an amenity tree, particularly on the edges of plantations. It suckers freely and it coppices when cut.
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