Black Cherry Leaf Identification: Leaf, Bark, Look-Alikes

Black cherry leaf identification rests on one feature most look-alikes lack: a line of rusty-brown hairs along the midrib on the underside of the leaf, near its base. Three Rivers Park District and the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens both name it as the distinguishing mark.

The rest of the leaf, per Iowa State University Extension: alternate and simple, oval or oblong to lance-shaped, 2 to 6 inches long, pointed at the tip, with a single row of small teeth. Wikipedia gives 5 to 13 cm and describes the margin as finely toothed. The upper surface is usually shiny dark green, though Three Rivers notes the gloss varies from tree to tree. Rub a young twig and you get a bitter-almond smell; Wikipedia explains that it comes from trace cyanide the plant uses as a defense.

• Young bark - smooth, lighter gray, with distinct horizontal lenticels (Three Rivers). At this stage it can be confused with other cherries and with invasive buckthorn.
• Mature bark - thin, light gray to nearly black, broken into scaly plates with upturned edges (Iowa State). Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens suggests scraping the bark and checking for a distinctly pungent odor.
• Flowers - white, five-petaled, crowded along long, drooping, cylindrical racemes at the ends of leafy twigs in late spring; Iowa State gives May to June.
• Fruit - dark red to black drupes 5 to 10 mm across (Wikipedia), ripening late August into September (Three Rivers). Iowa State says they taste bitter and are eaten by many songbirds.
• Form - Iowa State describes an oval, moderately spreading crown in the open; Three Rivers notes it grows two feet or more a year and is the largest of the region's four native cherries. Wikipedia gives 15 to 24 m.

• Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) - the closest match. Wikipedia describes it as a suckering shrub or small tree, usually 1 to 6 m, with leaves 2.5 to 10 cm long that are smooth on both surfaces, and fruit that ranges from bright red to black. Black cherry grows far taller and has larger, glossier leaves; turn the leaf over and look for the rusty midrib hairs.
• Common buckthorn - Three Rivers warns that young black cherry bark can be mistaken for this invasive shrub. Compare the leaves before cutting anything.
• "Brazilian cherry" - a flooring name for jatoba, a tropical tree, not a cherry at all. See our Brazilian cherry page.

Do not eat anything from a tree you have identified only from a web page or an app. The sources we checked agree on the risk: Wikipedia says the seeds and wilted leaves contain amygdalin, which releases hydrogen cyanide; Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens says almost all parts of the tree are toxic; Three Rivers advises not chewing the leaves or twigs; and Iowa State warns that cyanic acid in wilted twigs and leaves can harm deer and cattle eating large amounts. The same sources mention the fruit being used in jams and flavorings, which is exactly why a confirmed identification by a local expert matters before anyone harvests it.

• If a person has eaten leaves, twigs, bark or crushed pits, or feels unwell after eating wild fruit, contact a poison control center or a doctor right away.
• If livestock or pets have eaten wilted cherry leaves, call a veterinarian.
• After storms, clear fallen and wilting branches out of pastures.

• Wildlife. Wikipedia says black cherry hosts caterpillars of more than 450 butterfly and moth species. Eastern tent caterpillars build webs in its branches in spring; Three Rivers says the damage is usually temporary, and Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens notes more than 60 bird species have been recorded eating those caterpillars.
• Outside its range. Wikipedia reports it has become invasive in western and central Europe, where it reduces forest biodiversity.
• Wood. Black cherry is one of North America's prized furniture woods (Iowa State). The USDA Wood Handbook gives a side hardness of 950 lbf at 12% moisture and places the heartwood in the "moderately resistant" decay group. Our black cherry wood page covers the lumber, which darkens from pinkish to reddish brown with light.

WoodLens identifies black cherry from a leaf (photograph the underside too), the bark or a board.

This page was drafted with AI help, and every fact was checked against the sources listed on the page.