Wild cherry (Prunus avium)

What the plant is

Prunus avium is recorded by the RHS as native to Great Britain and Ireland, with a range given as Europe to Asia Minor, the Caucasus and western Siberia. The Wildlife Trusts describe it as growing wild on woodland edges and hedgerows and as also frequently planted in towns and gardens.

Its white flowers open in early spring and ripen into red summer fruit, the cherries. The RHS lists the tree as a fruiting plant with edible fruit.

Fruit and use

The Wildlife Trusts entry calls the fruit the edible cherries we know and love and notes their use in cherry brandy. Birds and mammals eat the fruit and spread the seeds.

The sources do not describe the flesh's taste, ripeness or yield in a way that would support a recipe. Other web material describes the fruit as sometimes bitter; that statement was not verified here.

Stones, leaves and bark

The RHS entry gives no toxicity warning about the stones or leaves, and the Wildlife Trusts entry gives none about kernels, leaves or bark. Neither source therefore establishes that these parts are safe, and neither establishes that they are toxic.

Other web material, read only in summary, states that the stones and other parts of the plant contain cyanogenic compounds. That statement was not verified in a primary source, so this page makes no finding on it. Kernels and leaves stay unassessed.

Identification and safety limits

Reference and research only. Fermenta cannot identify a gathered specimen or guarantee that it is safe to eat. Competent local identification is needed before eating any wild plant.

The Wildlife Trusts entry gives bark description for identification, with red, papery bark that peels in horizontal bands. That description is not a field key. The sources used here do not assess lookalikes, including other wild Prunus species.

Research gaps

The Kew Grow Wild entry named in the source record could not be read in this pass. Regional names, gathering season, local abundance and collection rules are not established here. The source record lists wild cherry as a discovery name for the UK and is not a completed report.