Index / Search / Prunus serotina

§1 Plant

Prunus serotina Ehrh.

vernacular black cherry — species · Rosaceae


USDA
PRSE2
GBIF
3021850
Rank
species
black cherry (Prunus serotina)
Platephotograph · Danny BarronCC BY-NC-ND 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

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b

County-level range

· 892 counties across 21 states/territories
Legend Native · 892 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Medium
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
120 min.
Precipitation
21–50 in/yr
pH range
4–7.5
Root depth
36 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Multiple Stem
Growth rate
Rapid
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
80 ft
Height @ 20 y
40 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
Severe
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Late Spring
Seed abundance
High
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Summer
Spread rate
Rapid
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
4,800
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
Yes
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
Yes
Fuelwood
High
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 892 counties across 21 states/territories.

Alabama view state ↗ 65 N
Arizona view state ↗ 13 N
Arkansas view state ↗ 72 N
Delaware view state ↗ 2 N
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N
Florida view state ↗ 33 N
Georgia view state ↗ 57 N
Kentucky view state ↗ 116 N
Louisiana view state ↗ 59 N
Maine view state ↗ 14 N
Massachusetts view state ↗ 14 N
Mississippi view state ↗ 61 N
New Hampshire view state ↗ 10 N
New Jersey view state ↗ 21 N
New York view state ↗ 37 N
North Carolina view state ↗ 87 N
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 67 N
Rhode Island view state ↗ 5 N
Vermont view state ↗ 13 N
Virginia view state ↗ 100 N
West Virginia view state ↗ 45 N

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

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

plants.usda.gov/PRSE2 ↗

GBIF Backbone

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

gbif.org/species/3021850 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T05:45:41Z