Index / Search / Prunus padus

§1 Plant

Prunus padus L.

vernacular European bird cherry — species · Rosaceae


USDA
PRPA5
GBIF
3021037
Rank
species
European bird cherry (Prunus padus)
Platephotograph · SciadopitysCC BY-SA source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub, Tree
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Rosaceae Juss.
Genus
Prunus
§2a

Native status, by region

  • AK Alaska Introduced
  • CAN Canada Introduced
  • L48 Lower 48 States Introduced
§2b

County-level range

· 19 counties across 6 states/territories
Legend Native · 0 Introduced · 19 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
None
Shade
High
Moisture use
Medium
Fire
Low
Salinity
Medium
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
High
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-33 °F minimum
Frost-free days
110 min.
Precipitation
24–45 in/yr
pH range
5–7
Root depth
36 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Stem
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
30 ft
Height @ 20 y
20 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Moderate
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
White
Fruit colour
Black
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Spring
Seed abundance
High
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Summer
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
8,910
Propagation
seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
No Known Source
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
Medium
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Fuelwood
Medium
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 19 counties across 6 states/territories.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/PRPA5 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/3021037 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T10:50:45Z