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Prunus serotina, commonly called black cherry, wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a woody plant species belonging to the genus Prunus. This cherry is native to eastern North America: from eastern Canada through southern Quebec and Ontario; south through the eastern United States to Texas and central Florida; with disjunct populations in Arizona and New Mexico; and in the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala. The black cherry is a deciduous tree growing to 15 to 30 m tall with a trunk diameter of up to 70 to 120 cm, occasionally more, with flowers in racemes. The flowers are small (10 to 15 mm diameter), with five white petals and about 20 stamens, and are fragrant; there are around 40 flowers on each raceme. The fruit is a drupe, 1 cm diameter, green to red at first, ripening black; it is usually astringent and bitter when eaten fresh, but also somewhat sweet. The fruit is readily eaten by birds.
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