Fruit of the forest in your garden

ON a fine spring day, there is nothing in the Irish countryside more splendid than a large, wild cherry tree in full blossom. There are two species of native wild cherry.

Prunus avium, also known as the gean tree, is widespread, though not common, in hedgerows and woodlands all over Ireland, although it prefers fertile, lime-rich soils.

It is a member of the plum and blackthorn family and, like most species in the family, it produces root suckers, so it often occurs in groves, particularly in a wood, one parent tree being surrounded by clones.