Black Cherry Tree

(prunus serotina creative commons september 2005 Amerikaanse vogelkers)

Two weeks ago, my lights went out. I decided to leave the family in order to see if our house had lights again. No lights, so I decided to go for a walk. My donkeys were grunting and snorting inside their fence and I noticed a huge branch down full of black cherries! I grabbed as many as I could and brought them home. My father ate some of them and I put the rest in the fridge. These are more bitter than most cherries. They grow in Alabama's Wild.
This branch I saw was right over my donkey's pin and I was afraid that they would possibly get it. My father's friend had an incident with his horse and branches of this type of cherry tree. Horses and Equine get sick from eating cherry branches. It's okay for people to eat the cherries, but don't give them to your horses.
The Prunus Serotina cherry tree grows from 50 feet to 75 feet high. They drape down with lustrous blossoms in the spring and bear bitter small cherries at the beginning of summer. Even though the cherries are bitter and sweet, the center of the pit tastes alot like an almond. I don't recommend eating the center though. My father said that he saw the birds feasting on these fruits and would get so drunk from the dried ones that they would fly against the house and fall down. If they have this kind of impact on a bird, I don't recommend making wine out of it.
This tree makes furniture! It's diameter is 2-3 feet which makes really nice hardwood furniture. These trees are vast and multiply in Alabama's wild. On my land, you will find a Prunus Serotina about two every four feet! They are the cardinal and small birds favorite hangout. They usually hang out from this side and visit my goat's pen for a few pieces of corn.
Some uses for the Prunus Serotina Cherry were cough syrups and bronchitis
There have been properties found in the black cherry tree that helps patients with colorectal cancer cells. I found this information on Herbal Index Online

For some recipes for the cherries that grow on this tree you can find some here:

Chokecherry Jelly
Chokecherry Syrup
Chokecherry Cordial Pie, Chokecherry Pie, Chokecherry Crown Rolls
Chokecherry Jam