Growing as a shrub or small tree, the Pin Cherry usually has a straight trunk and a narrow, round-topped crown. It grows 5-15 m (15-50 ft) tall and 10-51 cm (4-20 inches) in diameter. Trees up to 30 m (100 ft) tall have been found growing in the southern Appalachians, with the largest found on the western slopes of the Great Smoky Mountains. Its foliage is thin, with leaves 4-11 cm (1.5-4.3 inches) long and 1-4.5 cm (0.5-1.75 inches) wide.

Flowers manifest in small groupings of five to seven with individual flowers 1 cm (0.4 inches) across. The fruit are drupes, ranging from 4-8 mm (0.15-0.3 inches), containing seeds that are 4-6 mm (0.15-0.24 inches) in diameter with a thick seed coat. The plant’s root system is shallow with roots tending to grow laterally.

The Pin cherry is rather short lived, having a lifespan of only 20-40 years following a rapid maturation.

For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin_cherry

http://www.saskfruit.com/

http://www.naturenorth.com/summer/fruits/pinchrry.html

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 at 8:00 am and is filed under Prairie Fruit.