Prunus pensylvanica – Nutritional Value, Health Benefits

The genus name is Latin for “plum tree.” The family name comes from the Latin for “rose.” The species name apparently comes from the fact that these trees are common in Pennsylvania. This tree has no commercial use although a cherry jelly or jam can be made from the fruit and some attempts at marketing this product have been made. The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as food, medicine, and a source of materials. It can be used as a pioneer species for restoring native woodland. Prunus pensylvanica is a widespread species with a stable global population. The plant is classified as ‘Least Concern’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Pin Cherry Facts

Plant Description

Pin Cherry is a small, fast-growing, short-lived, unarmed, deciduous shrub or small tree that normally grows about 15 to 50 feet (5-15 m) tall and has a trunk diameter of about 4 to 20 inches (10-51 cm). However, trees up to 100 feet tall (30 m) have been found in the southern Appalachians, with the largest size attained on the western slopes of the Great Smoky Mountains. In western North America, pin cherry may be generally smaller with an arching shrub form, growing 5 to 15 feet (1.5-4.5 m) tall and spreading 5 to 10 feet. The tree generally has a straight trunk and a narrow, round-topped crown, though it may form thickets. Branches, at first ascending, become more or less horizontal and spread with age. The plant is found growing in rocky woods in moist rather rich soils, wet woodlands, old tamarack bogs, interdunal swamps, open forest, plains, valleys to lower subalpine, thickets along streams and lakeshores, in clearings, roadsides, burned-over areas, disturbed sites, rocky hillsides, and cliffs. It grows on infertile rocky ledges, sandy plains, moist loamy soils, and rich loams.

Trunk

The trunk is fairly straight and sometimes leaning. The crown is narrow and rounded at the top. The branches on young trees are ascending. As the tree ages, the branches become nearly horizontal.

Bark

The bark on young trees is thin, smooth, shiny, and dark reddish-brown with numerous conspicuous, long, horizontal, pore-like openings (lenticels). The lenticels are widely-spaced, raised, warty, and orange. As the tree ages, the bark turns gray. On mature trees, the bark is rough and sometimes peels in horizontal strips, and the lenticels are rougher and darker. The inner bark is slightly aromatic and very bitter. The large lenticels show orange when rubbed.

Twigs

The twigs are very slender, hairless, shiny, and red or reddish-brown, with tiny, orange, dot-like lenticels. They are covered with grayish skin at first but that quickly wears off. They have brown pith and a disagreeable bitter almond taste. The leaf scars are half-round to elliptical. They have 3 bundle scars.

Buds

Lateral buds are small, 1 ⁄16 inches to ⅛ inches long, rounded, and reddish-brown. They diverge slightly from the twig. The terminal bud is similar and appears with a cluster of two or more lateral buds at the end of the twig.

Wood

The wood is coarse-grained, soft, and light. It is not used commercially. The gum is edible.

Leaves

Leaves are deciduous, alternate, and clustered at the ends of the twigs. They are on ⅜ -¾ inches long, hairless leaf stalks (petioles). The petioles often have one to three, more often two, small, red, wart-like swellings (glands) near the tip where the petiole meets the blade. The leaf blades are lance-shaped, 1¾ — 4¾ inches long, and ⅝ – 2 inches wide, 2 to 3 times longer than wide. They are broadly angled or rounded at the base and taper to a long point at the tip with concave sides along the tip. The upper surface is shiny, hairless, and dark yellowish-green. The lower surface is paler and usually hairless, sometimes hairy along the main veins at first, becoming hairless. The margins are finely and irregularly toothed all the way to the base with sharp or rounded, forward-pointing teeth. There is a small red or yellow gland at the tip of each tooth near the sinus. In autumn the leaves turn yellow.

Flower

Inflorescence is 2 to 5, sometimes 6 or 7, flowers in a stalkless umbrella-shaped (umbel-like) or flat-topped cluster (corymb) at the end of a short, 1 ⁄32 – 5 ⁄16 inches long, branch-like base (fascicle). The clusters appear at the ends of current year twigs and at the axils of the previous year’s branchlets. Each flower is on a hairless, ⅜ -¾ inches long flower stalk (pedicel). Each pedicel is subtended by a minute, modified leaves (bracts). The flowers open in early May to mid-June when the leaves are about half size.

Each flower is about ½ inches in diameter. There are 5 sepals, 5 petals, 10 to 30 stamens, and 1 style. The sepals are green, 1 ⁄32 – ⅛ inches long, untoothed, hairless, and bent backward. The petals are white, ⅛ – ¼ inches long and conspicuously narrowed at the base (clawed). The claw is about 1 ⁄32 inches long. The expanded portion of the petal is elliptic, inversely egg-shaped, or almost circular. The stamens have white filaments and yellow anthers.

Fruit

Fertile flowers are followed by fleshy, one-seeded, spherical, or ellipse-shaped drupes that are about ¼ – ⅜ inches in diameter. It is green at first, turning bright red, shiny, and very sour when it matures in early July to late Mid-August. They are arranged in groups of 2 to 6. The seed is not flattened. Seeds are 0.15 to 0.24 inches (4-6 mm) in diameter with a thick seed coat. There are 13,600 to 22,700 seeds per pound.

Traditional uses and benefits of Pin Cherry

• An infusion of the bark has been used in the treatment of fevers, bronchitis, coughs and colds, infections, and blood poisoning.
• A decoction of the inner bark has been used in the treatment of laryngitis.
• A poultice of the boiled, shredded inner bark has been applied to a bleeding umbilical cord.
• An infusion of the inner bark has been used as an eyewash for sore eyes.
• The astringent root bark has been used as a wash on old sores and ulcers.
• A decoction of the root has been used as a treatment for stomach pains.
• The fruit is often used domestically in the preparation of cough mixtures.
• In small amounts, this exceedingly poisonous compound stimulates respiration, improves digestion, and gives a sense of well-being.
• An infusion of the bark was used for cough medicines by the Algonquin, Cherokee, Iroquois, Ojibwa, Potawatomi, and Wet’suwet’en (Moerman).
• Bark infusion was also used to treat blood poisoning, to treat sore eyes, and stomach pains.
• It is used as a burn salve and measles.
• The Cherokee used the pin cherry fruit to treat gastrointestinal issues.

Culinary Uses

• It is usually too sour to be eaten raw; it is used mainly for making pies, jellies, jams, and preserves.
• Gum that exudes from the trunk can be used as a pack of chewing gum.
• Seed can be consumed raw or cooked.
• Do not eat the seed if it is too bitter.
• A jelly or syrup can be made from the drupes by boiling them down in the water, straining out the stones and adding sugar to taste.
• The Iroquois used the cherries in small cakes and pieces of bread, while the dried fruits were taken as hunting food.
• For the Ojibwa, pin cherries were an especially abundant food and besides eating them fresh, they were also dried and sometimes ground into flour for soups.

Other Facts

• A green dye can be obtained from the leaves.
• Dark grey to green dye can be obtained from the fruit.
• The outer bark is used to ornament baskets.
• It is watertight and resists decay.
• The tree has a vigorous root system and is sometimes planted to stabilize soils and contain erosion.
• It is a good pioneer species for burnt over land.
• It establishes quickly, providing shelter for other woodland trees and then dying out.
• Wood is only used as fuel.
• Pin cherry is not used for lumber and is considered a non-commercial species.
• Bark was also used in basketry, especially by British Columbians, who would soak it in red or black color.
• The plant has been used as a rootstock for the sour cherry.
• Wood can be harvested as a source of biomass for fiber (presumably for paper pulp etc.)

References