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American plum flowers first appear before or at leaf emergence; they occur in roughly spherical clusters (umbels) of two to five flowers, arising from leaf axils. Each flower is ~1" across, held away from the twig at the base of the umbel on 1/2-1" petioles; there are five egg-shaped petals with narrow bases, white with a touch of pink, five narrow, somewhat fleshy, green sepals much shorter than the petals, a single style, and numerous (10-30) stamens with tan anthers. The fruits are about 1" across, initially green but turning reddish-purple with the waxy bloom typical of plums when ripe; inside is a single seed (a "stone," like a peach). Because this tree usually flowers when the leaves are only beginning to open, it produces an especially showy display. It is widespread across Jackson Park.

Prunus

Prunus americana

American plum [Blooms: Apr-May]

European bird cherry It has showy white flowers (so is widely planted as an ornamental) and reaches heights of 30-40'. Blooms are produced in elongate, cylindrical racemes of 15-50 flowers at the tips of twigs, similar to but shorter than those of chokecherry (Prunus virginia). Individual flowers consist of five green, broadly-spreading or reflexed sepals (longer than wide); five white or cream colored petals that are 1/4-3/8" long, oval but widest in the center; 10-30 stamens half the length of the petals around a cup-shaped, often green hypanthium (hairless externally); and a single central pistil. The fruit is a small, black drupe (cherry) with an extremely bitter taste to mammals, but it is much loved by birds, who disperse the pits. European bird cherry is very similar to another species present in Jackson Park, chokecherry. European bird cherry tends to be more tree-like in habit than chokecherry and tends to have shorter stamens (half the length of the petals) than chokecherry (as long as the petals). It's not clear how much of this expansion is due to Park District policy and how much is due to natural seed dispersal.

Prunus

Prunus padus

European bird cherry [Blooms: Apr-May]

Sand cherry is a 4-8' tall shrub; the Great Lakes variant of this species (Prunus pumila spp. pumila) is restricted to the states (and the Canadian province) that touch on the Great Lakes. Blooms occur in umbels of 1-3 flowers; flowers open before the leaves but may persist after some leaves have emerged. Individual flowers are about 1/2" across, consisting of five sepals with rounded tips that are about a third the length of the petals; five white, round- or egg-shaped petals; 10-30 white stamens with yellow anthers emerging from a reddish, cup-shaped hypanthium; and a single, central style. The fruit is a reddish-purple to black, shiny cherry (drupe) about 1/2" in diameter. Sand cherry is found along the shores of the Great Lakes on beaches (sandy, gravelly, or rocky), dunes, and the swales between dunes.

Prunus

Prunus pumila

sand cherry [Blooms: Apr-May]

Black cherry (Prunus serotina) is a is a deciduous tree that can grow up to 80' tall. It typically has a single central trunk below and leafy crown that is taller than wide. Flowers occur in racemes 4-6" long with 20-60 1/2" wide flowers packed around the elongated inflorescence. Individual flowers consist of five green, triangular sepals, five white petals broader at their distal tips and at least three times longer than the sepals, 10-30 stamens with yellow anthers around a reddish-orange hypanthium, and a single, central pistil with a flattened stigma. After fertilization, each flower produces a globoid, fleshy drupe about 1/4" across. The immature cherries are green; as they mature the fruit turns first dark red, they purple-black at maturity. These fruits are sweet but slightly bitter; the black cherry you buy in the grocery store is larger (at least 1/2" across), sweeter, and a species native to Eurasia (Prunus avium).

Prunus

Prunus serotina

black cherry [Blooms: May-June]

Japanese flowering cherry is an exotic from East Asia widely grown in North America as an ornamental (for its showy spring flowers). The flowers occur is small clusters of 2-5 white, pale pink, or deeper pink flowers that (unlike most cherries) dangle face-down beneath the stems from short spurs. The fruit consists of small, round drupes that turn black when mature. Leaves, stems, and fruit, and seeds are toxic to mammals. Many of the cultivars of Japanese flowering cherry are highly hybridized and nearly unrecognizable as being derived from Prunus serrulata.

Prunus

Prunus serrulata

Japanese cherry [Blooms: Apr-May]

Chokecherry is a shrub or small tree 8-25' tall. Flowers occur in spectacular racemes ~6" long with 15-20 white, 1/2" wide, bowl-shaped flowers with an orange-yellow center (hypanthium); the flowers are attached to a central, greenish-yellow stalk. Individual flowers consist of five sepals (initially green, later turning yellow) shorter than the petals, five white petals that narrow sharply near their bases, 15-20 stamens about as long as the petals, and a pistil with a single style. Crushed leaves smell strongly of bitter almonds. Fruit is a red to black globular drupe <1/2" wide that contains a single hard-coated seed (stone) and has a VERY bitter taste; the seed contains high levels of hydrogen cyanide. The fruit is eaten by a wide variety of mammals and birds; the flesh of the fruit traditionally was one of the components of pemmican in indigenous cultures. (The hydrogen cyanide is not a danger unless the hard shell of the seed is broken open.) Chokecherry is similar to wild black cherry (Prunus serotina), but P. serotina has incurved teeth on its leaf margins. Chokecherry is very similar to an exotic also present in Jackson Park, European bird cherry (Prunus padus). European bird cherry tends to be more tree-like in habit than chokecherry and tends to have shorter stamens (half the length of the petals) than chokecherry (as long as the petals). Chokecherry in Jackson Park is often infested with black knot fungus (Dibotryon morbosum).

Prunus

Prunus virginiana

chokecherry [Blooms: Apr-May]