Prunus cerasus (species)
- Scope note
- Species of small cherry tree native to much of Europe and southwest Asia, closely related to the wild cherry (P. avium) but having a fruit that is more acidic. Cultivated sour cherries were apparently selected from wild specimens from around the Caspian and Black Seas; they were popular in Persia and known to the Greeks by the 4th century BCE. The Romans introduced them into Britain by the 1st century CE. In Britain, their cultivation was popular in the time of Henry VIII; by 1640 over 20 named cultivars were recorded. English colonists to Massachusetts brought the sour cherry to America.
- Date of creation: 02-Dec-2024
Accepted term: 02-Dec-2024