BLACK CHERRY
(Prunus serotina)
Leaves: Simple, alternate, narrow, with tapering tip, shiny above, paler below and usually with reddish brown hairs near the base; 2″-5″ long, margins with short incurved teeth.
Twigs: Smooth, reddish brown, often covered with a thin gray coating which peels or rubs off easily; bitter when chewed; with minute, rounded gray [lenticels]. Buds smooth, shiny, sharp-pointed, same color as twigs but often tinged with green.
Fruit: Round, black with a purplish tint, ⅓″-½″ in diameter, containing a single round, stony seed. Arranged in hanging clusters. Flowers white, in 4″-long upright clusters in June.
General: Bark on young trunks smooth, dark red-brown, marked with numerous raised horizontal lines ([lenticels]), somewhat resembling that of [sweet birch]; later breaking into thick irregular plates with upturned edges. A large tree in the northern part of the State; medium-sized in the southern counties. Wood used chiefly for quality furniture and interior finish.
BLACK GUM
(Nyssa sylvatica)
Leaves: Simple, alternate, 2″-4″ long, entire or wavy margin; dark green and shiny above, often [downy] on the underside; turning a vivid red in early autumn.
Twigs: Smooth, grayish to reddish brown; the white [pith] separated by dark lines. Buds rounded in cross section, pointed, reddish brown, ¼″ long.
Fruit: Cherry-like, ⅓″-⅔″ long, dark blue, 1-seeded, with thin flesh; borne singly or in 2’s or 3’s in a cluster; ripens in autumn.