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Bitter Cherry

Prunus emarginata

Bitter cherry is a slender western cherry of foothills and forest openings, clouded with fragrant white flowers and hung with small bitter-red fruit that birds devour. An important larval host in the West.

Family
Rosaceae
Type
tree
Lifespan
perennial
Height
15–50 ft
Spacing
12–25 ft apart
Light
sun, part shade
Soil moisture
moist, dry
Soil pH
acidic, neutral
Bloom
April, May, June
Bloom colors
white
Wildlife value
pollinators, songbirds, butterflies, larval host
Caterpillar hosts
~456 butterfly & moth species
Landscape uses
specimen
Native states
AZ, CA, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA