Winter Tree Identification – Black Cherry

Black cherry (Prunus serotina) has a dark gray bark that exfoliates into overlapping scales that are said to resemble burnt potato chips. Even if it takes a bit of imagination to see the resemblance, the association has helped enumerable botany students to remember this distinctive bark. Black cherry is very common throughout Pennsylvania, much more common in fact than it was before logging, chestnut blight, gypsy moths and other factors changed the face of Pennsylvania's forests.

The economic benefits of harvesting this valuable species helps to keep large tracts of land forested, but these forests do not contain the full range of species present under pristine conditions, and forests that are managed for a few economically valuable species do not by themselves suffice to protect the biodiversity of the region. In addition, wise forest managers recognize that what is today the most valuable species in the market may not be tomorrow, and a forest with too much of one species is susceptible to pests and disease. Biodiversity and economic diversity often go hand-in-hand!

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