Pin cherry

Leaves

Form

• Lance-shaped, gradually tapering to a slender, sharp tip
• Widest below or near the middle
• Thin and fragile
• Hairless
• Commonly curved backward

Length

• 8–15 cm

Colour

• Shiny yellowish-green

Autumn colour

• Bright purplish-red

Margin

• Minute, uneven teeth
• Margin folded upward along the midvein

Buds

Form

• Small, rounded
• Diverging slightly from the twig
• Terminal bud and several similar lateral buds clustered at the end of the twig

Length

• 1–2 mm

Twigs

Form

• Very slender
• Neoformed branches may develop on vigorous shoots

Colour

• Reddish

Flowers

Form

• In tassel-like clusters of 4–7

Structure

• Synoecious

Floral timing

• When the leaves are about half-grown

Fruits

Form

• Thin, sour, edible flesh
• Slender-stalked
• Produced abundantly

Width

• 6–8 mm

Colour

• Bright red

Timing

• Ripen late July to early September

Seeds

• May live for decades on the forest floor

Seedlings

Form

• Cotyledons small, leafy
• Raised above the surface

Bark

Form

• Smooth, shiny
• Lenticels conspicuous, large, widely spaced, horizontal, powdery
• With age separating into horizontal papery strips

Colour

• Dark reddish-brown
• Lenticels orange

Size

Height

• To 12 m

Diameter

• 25 cm

Maximum age

• 40 years

Tree form

Open-grown

Trunk

• Fairly straight

Crown

• Narrow, round-topped
• Branches ascending at first, becoming nearly horizontal and spreading with age

Habitat

Site

• Areas recently cleared by cutting, windthrow or burning
• Along rivers in the Prairies

Light tolerance

• Intolerant of shade