Bird Cherry and Tulip Tree
The bird cherry is distributed throughout most of Europe, extending northward as far as central Sweden and eastward to the Yenisei River. It grows mainly in moist situations alongside lakes and ponds and on alluvial deposits; alongside streams, it may be found at elevations over 1000 metres. The bird cherry is a small tree 5 to 15 metres high, with a broad crown and pendent branches.
The white mulberry is a small tree growing to a height of 10 to 15 metres and developing a broad crown. The bark is grey-brown and furrowed with longitudinal ridges. The leaves are broadly ovate, often three lobed. The tiny flowers are borne in short dense spikes, usually monoeciously, rarely dioeciously. The milky-white loganberry-like fruit has a bland, sweetish taste and matures in ,June.
Cultivated locally for its wood in European forests and as an ornamental in parks is the North American black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehr.), which grows to a height of 25 metres and has scaly bark. It is more tolerant of soil and climatic conditions.
At one time it was grown in gardens as a fruit tree. The related black mulberry (Mores nigra L.), with dark red fruits, is a native of Iran and Afghanistan. The false acacia is a native of North America, where it grows in mixed broad-leaved woods from Pennsylvania to Georgia and Oklahoma. It was named after the French botanist Jean Robin, who introduced it into Europe in 1601.
The trunk is generally crooked, and the crown has pendent branches. The shoots are thin, the buds small and ovoid. The white (lowers, borne in a loose, upright raceme, appear about a week later than those of the bird cherry. The fruit is a black, spherical ovoid drupe, ripening in late July, with a small smooth stone.
The mahaleb cherry is used as a pioneer in the afforestation of warm karst areas. It is sometimes cultivated as a short rotation crop for the snaking of pipes, cigarette holders and other articles of turnery. In dry and warm areas it is a good tree for parks and roadsides. Fruit growers use it as a rootstock for grafting cultivated varieties.
