The pin cherry or fire cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) is a species in the genus Prunus. The pin cherry can be found from Newfoundland and southern Labrador, crossing Canada to the west and reaching British Columbia and the southern Northwest Territories. Additionally it is very common in New England and the Lake States and is not very common south of Pennsylvania; there it is only found in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee. Scattered growth of the pin cherry also occurs in the Rocky Mountains, south to Colorado and southeast to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Scientific classification redirects here. ... Divisions Green algae land plants (embryophytes) non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses vascular plants (tracheophytes) seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongue ferns seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of land plants. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class of flowering plants. ... Families Barbeyaceae Cannabaceae (hemp family) Dirachmaceae Elaeagnaceae Moraceae (mulberry family) Rosaceae (rose family) Rhamnaceae (buckthorn family) Ulmaceae (elm family) Urticaceae (nettle family) For the Philippine municipality, see Rosales, Pangasinan. ... Global distribution of Rosaceae Subfamilies Rosoideae Spiraeoideae Maloideae Amygdaloideae or Prunoideae The Rosaceae or rose family is a large family of plants, with about 3,000-4,000 species in 100-120 genera. ... Genera Prunus Prinsepia Prunoideae, also called Amygdaloideae, is the subfamily containing the genera Prunus and Prinsepia. ... Species Old World: Prunus africana Prunus apetala Prunus armeniaca Prunus avium Prunus buergeriana Prunus campanulata Prunus canescens Prunus cerasifera Prunus cerasoides Prunus cerasus Prunus cocomilia Prunus cornuta Prunus crassifolia Prunus davidiana Prunus domestica Prunus dulcis Prunus fruticosa Prunus geniculata Prunus glandulosa Prunus gracilis Prunus grayana Prunus incana Prunus incisa Prunus... For other uses, see Cherry (disambiguation). ... Latin name redirects here. ... Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 13, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... For other uses, see Genus (disambiguation). ... Species Old World: Prunus africana Prunus apetala Prunus armeniaca Prunus avium Prunus buergeriana Prunus campanulata Prunus canescens Prunus cerasifera Prunus cerasoides Prunus cerasus Prunus cocomilia Prunus cornuta Prunus crassifolia Prunus davidiana Prunus domestica Prunus dulcis Prunus fruticosa Prunus geniculata Prunus glandulosa Prunus gracilis Prunus grayana Prunus incana Prunus incisa Prunus... Newfoundland —   IPA: [nuw fÉ™n lænd] (French: , Irish: ) is a large island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... Labrador (also Coast of Labrador) is a region of Atlantic Canada. ... Motto: Splendor sine occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English (de facto) Government Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament House seats 36 Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 5th Total 944... For the former United States territory, see Northwest Territory. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... The Appalachian Mountains are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. ... This article is about the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... For individual mountains named Rocky Mountain, see Rocky Mountain (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English Demonym Coloradan Capital Denver Largest city Denver Largest metro area Denver-Aurora Metro Area Area  Ranked 8th in the US  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... This article is about the place in South Dakota. ... Official language(s) English Demonym South Dakotan Capital Pierre Largest city Sioux Falls Area  Ranked 17th in the US  - Total 77,116[1] sq mi (199,905 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 380 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ...

The pin cherry is a shrub or small tree and usually has a straight trunk and a narrow, round-topped crown. It grows 5-15 m (15-50 ft) tall and 10-51 cm (4-20 inches) in diameter. Trees up to 30 m (100 ft) tall have been found growing in the southern Appalachians, with the largest found on the western slopes of the Great Smoky Mountains. Its foliage is thin, with leaves 4-11 cm (1.5-4.3 inches) long and 1-4.5 cm (0.5-1.75 inches) wide. Flowers are fond in small groupings of five to seven with individual flowers 1 cm (0.4 inches) across. The fruit are drupes, ranging from 4-8 mm (0.15-0.3 inches), containing seeds that are 4-6 mm (0.15-0.24 inches) in diameter with a thick seed coat. The plant's root system is shallow and its roots tend to grow laterally. The pin cherry is rather short lived; it matures rapidly and has a lifespan of 20-40 years. A broom shrub in flower A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m tall. ... A rainy day in the Great Smoky Mountains, Western North Carolina Appalachian Mountain system The Great Smoky Mountains are a major mountain range in the southern part of the Appalachian Mountains, the second ridge line forming a north-south running mountain chain from the Eastern United States and bordering the... The peach is a typical drupe (stone fruit) In botany, a drupe is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp or skin and mesocarp or flesh) surrounds a shell (the pit or stone) of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. ...

Reproduction

The pin cherry can regenerate by seed and sprout. Its flowers are bisexual and pollinated by insects. Seeds are dispersed by birds, small mammals, and gravity. As part of its reproductive strategy, pin cherry maintains a bank of seeds in the soil that remain viable for many years. Seeds accumulate over prolonged periods, up to 50 years, and seed banks may be viable for 50-100 years. Asexual reproduction is achieved by sprouting, and often thickets of pin cherry plants form.

Fire ecology

The pin cherry has adapted to fire ecology by establishing a soil seed bank that germinates rapidly following fire and other disturbance. Though pin cherry is reportedly killed by fire, it is documented to sprout following cutting. Pin cherry seed survives most forest fires, and seeds which may be dormant for many years are stimulated to germination by the altered conditions after fire. Combined with the rapid initial growth of pin cherry seedlings, this characteristic enables pin cherry to dominate many burned-over areas, particularly in the northern hardwood forest. Fire is a component of the environment. ...

Uses

Pin cherry is an important food source for many animals. Winter moose browse it in the Great Lake states and boreal forest region. for porcupines. Boreal may refer to these: Northern from the eponymous Boreas, god of the North Wind in Greek mythology. ...

Pin cherry currently has little commercial value, though recent interest in commercial production of pin cherry fruit has emerged. The fruit is edible and can be used in jams and preserves.

Pin cherry wood is light, moderately soft, porous, and low in strength giving it little commercial value. In general, pin cherry is not used for lumber and is considered a noncommercial species. It occurs in abundance, however, over a wide range of sites and produces large quantities of biomass in a relatively short time. The species has been described as well adapted to intensive management and chip harvesting on short rotations for fiber and fuel.

The pin cherry serves as foodplant for varíous Lepidoptera. See List of Lepidoptera which feed on Prunus. Subdivisions See Taxonomy of Lepidoptera and Lepidopteran diversity. ... Prunus species are used as food plants by the larvae of a large number of Lepidoptera species including: Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) Autumnal Moth (Epirrita autumnata) The Brick (Agrochola circellaris) - recorded on Bird Cherry Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) Brown-tail (Euproctis chrysorrhoea) Buff-tip (Phalera bucephala) Common Emerald (Hemithea aestivaria...

References

• SPECIES: Prunus pensylvanica US Forestry Service's Fire Effects Information System reference