Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker - Wild Cherry Blossom Flower Fairy

In April when the woodland ways
Are all made glad and sweet
With primroses and violets
New-opened at your feet,
Look up and see
A fairy tree,
With blossoms white
In clusters light,
All set on stalks so slender,
With pinky leaves so tender.
O Cherry tree, wild Cherry tree!
You lovely, lovely thing to see!

The Wild Cherry Tree is the parent of the cultivated sweet cherry tree and grows native to Europe and western Asia.  The tree can grow to 60 feet with a tall straight trunk.  In late Spring, the tree is covered with white blossoms that produce a black-red fruit. The long dark green leaves turn red, crimson and yellow before they drop. The cherries selected for eating are derived from just two species, the Wild Cherry (P. avium), which has given rise to the Sweet Cherry to which most cherry cultivars belong, and the Morello Cherry or Sour Cherry (P. cerasus), used mainly for cooking and jam making. Both species originate in Europe and western Asia. The other species, although having edible fruit, are not grown extensively for consumption. As well as the fruit, cherries also have attractive flowers, and they are commonly planted for their flower display in spring; several of the Asian cherries are particularly noted for their flower display. Many flowering cherry cultivars (known as 'ornamental cherries') have the stamens replaced by additional petals ("double" flowers), so are sterile and do not bear fruit. They are grown purely for their flowers and decorative value.