How do you recognise Bird cherry (Prunus padus)?

Leaf

Ввласенко, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Bird cherry

Prunus padus L.

Also known as: Hagberry, Mayday tree

Family: Rosaceae

3 to 10 m tall, as a tree or large multi-stemmed shrub

Damp woods, riverside woodland, cool hedges, also planted in parks and gardens

Flowering: April – May, with the leaves

Full sun

Part shade

Very hardy, to about -30°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Its flowers and fruits are borne in long hanging racemes 10 to 15 cm long — a silhouette very different from the clusters or corymbs of the wild cherry, which otherwise looks very similar. The bird cherry (Prunus padus) shares with the wild cherry its brown-greyish bark and toothed oval leaves, but its flowers and fruits are gathered in long hanging racemes 10 to 15 cm long, whereas the wild cherry bears them in small clusters or corymbs. Its bark also gives off a characteristic bitter almond smell when cut.

🍃 Leaves

Ovate-pointed, finely toothed, 8 to 10 cm, with small nectar glands on the petiole

🌸 Flowers

White, very fragrant and rich in nectar, gathered in long hanging racemes 10 to 15 cm long (unlike the clusters or corymbs of other cherries)

🍎 Fruits

Small drupes in hanging racemes, red then glossy black when ripe, with red juice, harsh and astringent in flavour

🪵 Bark

Greyish to dark brown, giving off an unpleasant bitter almond smell when cut

🗺️ Distribution

Europe and northern Asia, as far as Japan; found in France mainly in the north, the east and mountain areas in damp woods and riverside woodland, rarer or even absent in the south and west

🐝 Value for pollinators

Long, very nectar-rich, fragrant racemes, among the most attractive Prunus blossoms for bees and other pollinating insects

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted as a specimen or in a country hedge for its spectacular flowering in racemes and its orange to red autumn foliage; its fruits also feed birds

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Fruit flesh is not toxic but harsh and astringent, not very palatable raw; stones rich in cyanogenic glycosides (as in other Prunus), not to be eaten. The bark and leaves give off a characteristic bitter almond smell when damaged.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Bird cherry

Prunus padus

Wild cherry

Prunus avium

The bird cherry (Prunus padus) shares with the wild cherry its brown-greyish bark and toothed oval leaves, but its flowers and fruits are gathered in long hanging racemes 10 to 15 cm long, whereas the wild cherry bears them in small clusters or corymbs. Its bark also gives off a characteristic bitter almond smell when cut.

🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.