Texas Natural Supply

Wild Cherry Bark (Prunus serotina), also known as the Black Cherry, Cabinet Cherry, Whiskey Cherry, Wild Black Cherry and Wild Cherry is a species of cherry, native to eastern North America from southern Quebec and Ontario south to Texas and central Florida. It is a species in the subgenus Padus with flowers in racemes, and is a deciduous tree growing to 15-30 m tall.

The leaves are simple, 6-14 cm long, with a serrated margin. The fruit are 1 cm in diameter, somewhat astringent and bitter to eat fresh, but suitable for making jam and cherry pies; they are also a popular flavoring for sodas. The flowers are small, white, and fragrant.

The mature Black Cherry can easily be identified in a forest by its very broken, dark grey to black bark, which has the appearance of very thick, burnt potato chips. However, for about the first decade or so of its life, the bark resembles that of a Birch, and is thin and striped.