Black Cherry

Prunus serotina · also: wild black cherry, cerisier tardif

note for next yearFruit & berries🗓 Ripe mid-Aug–mid-Sep📍 23 on map (0 confirmed)

How to ID it

Small dark cherries hanging in long drooping racemes (strings), not single-stalked
Older bark breaks into dark scaly plates likened to 'burnt cornflakes'
Finely toothed, glossy elliptical leaves; crushed twig smells of bitter almond
Single hard pit per cherry

⚠ Safety & lookalikes

Never eat or crush the pits, and don't chew the leaves or twigs — the stones, foliage, and bark are cyanogenic.
Use the ripe flesh only; spit out or strain every pit before cooking.
Wilted foliage is especially toxic to livestock, so keep prunings and clippings away from animals.

Harvest

Black cherry ripens mid-August into September, hanging in long drooping racemes of small dark cherries — the string-of-fruit habit separates it from ornamental cherries. Confirm the tree by its older bark, which flakes into dark scaly plates often described as burnt cornflakes. Pick the darkest, softest fruit; underripe cherries are punishingly astringent.

Prep

Raw, the flesh is thin and mouth-puckering, so black cherry is a cooking fruit. Simmer the whole cherries, then pass through a food mill or strainer to remove every pit before reducing to jelly, syrup, or a base for wine. The flavour deepens beautifully with sugar and heat.

Notes

The pits, leaves, twigs, and bark all contain cyanogenic compounds — use the flesh only, and never crush or eat the stones. Strain thoroughly; a milled pit fragment carries the same bitter-almond toxin. Keep prunings away from grazing animals.