Bird Cherry

Prunus padus

Also known as Hackberry, Hagberry, Mayday Tree, European Bird Cherry

At a glance

Family

Rosaceae

Type

Deciduous tree

Parts used

Ripe, destoned fruit has traditionally been eaten; bark, leaves, and seed kernels are not for consumption

Size

15 to 50 feet tall

Bloom

Fragrant white racemes in mid to late spring

Habitat

Riverbanks, woodland edges, and hedgerows across northern Europe and Asia

Acquisition

Grow or buy

This plant in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Feeds pollinators and songbirds

Fragrant spring blossom display

Traditional fruit preserves ingredient

Hardy wildlife hedgerow tree

Traditional uses

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Across the birch and spruce forests of northern Europe and Siberia, bird cherry has long marked the true arrival of spring, its clusters of almond-scented white flowers opening just as winter finally lets go. In Russia and the Baltic states, the ripe, deep purple-black fruit was traditionally gathered in late summer and, stone and all, ground into a dark flour once baked into the beloved cheryomukha cake, while the destoned flesh flavored preserves, kvass, and homemade spirits. The tree's dense, fragrant blossom made it a favorite of cottage gardens and hedgerows, valued as much for the bees and birds it fed as for the shade it offered. Because its bark, leaves, and seed kernels carry natural cyanogenic compounds, folk use of the plant stayed centered on the ripe fruit rather than the wood or foliage.

How to grow & use it

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✦Remedies & preparations
✦ Growing guide
✦Harvest & storage

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Pairs well with

✦Hawthorn
✦Rowan
✦Blackthorn (sloe)

Substitutes

✦Chokecherry fruit
✦Blackthorn (sloe) fruit

Choose it when

“For a fragrant spring hedge that hums with bees and later feeds the birds through late summer.”

Did you know?

In the Scottish Highlands, bird cherry was once called the hagberry, a name rooted in the Old Norse heggr, and country folklore linked the tree to witches, warning that its wood should never be burned on the hearth.

Safety

Bird cherry bark, leaves, and seed kernels contain cyanogenic compounds and are toxic if chewed or eaten, and wilted leaves have poisoned grazing livestock. The ripe, pitted fruit is fine to eat, but never eat the pits, bark, or leaves.