Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) The wild black cherry tree is a native American tree common in the central and eastern United States. The tree and its fruits have found many uses. Wines and jellies are made from the ripe, somewhat bitter, black cherries; a wild cherry cough syrup is made from the bark; and the wood is used in furniture making. While the tree can grow up to 80 feet inland, in the maritime forest on Assateague, it rarely grows above 40 or 50 feet due to the winds and the salt spray they carry. Late in the spring, you'll see the small white flowers, and as the seasaon develops the small green fruits (to less than half an inch) develop and change to yellow-orange and then, at the end of July, black. The photos were taken along the refuge's Wildlife Loop (map)
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