Types of Cherry Tree Bark

Black Cherry

• Black cherry ("Prunus serotina") trees bear bark that changes dramatically over time. Young black cherry trees have a thin bark marked with narrow lenticels. If you rub the bark on a young black cherry twig, you'll detect an almond fragrance.

  As the black cherry grows into its teens, its bark remains relatively smooth, similar in texture to a young birch. The thickened bark of an aging black cherry is a mottled charcoal color with many uneven breaks.

Yoshino Cherry

• The Yoshino cherry ("Prunus x yedoensis") is also known as the Japanese flowering cherry. It is a quick-growing, but short-lived, tree. The Yoshino cherry is a luscious spring bloomer with masses of flowers that cling to thin limbs in stark, artistic contrast to a dark, shiny bark. The smooth Yoshino cherry bark, like that of its cousin, the black cherry, contains characteristic horizontal lenticels, which appear large and prominent on this flowering cherry's reddish-gray skin.

Sweet Wild Cherry

• The sweet wild cherry tree's botanical name is "Prunus avium" -- translated from the Latin to mean "bird cherry." As youngsters, these trees grow straight and upright, with a smooth, dark bark that's more purple and brown than the typical gray of other common family members. The sweet wild cherry tree bark exhibits the same horizontal lenticels found on most of the other cherry trees. These marks grow from a pale brown on immature trees to a deep black on old trees.