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Cherry

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Red Cherry

Scientific classification
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Prunoideae
Genus: Prunus
Subgenus: Cerasus
Species

See text
"Cherry tree" redirects here. For other uses, see Cherry tree (disambiguation).
This article is about the berry also classified as fruit. For the ornamental tree, see Cherry blossom.
For other uses, see Cherry (disambiguation).

The word cherry refers to a fleshy fruit (drupe) that contains a single stony seed. The cherry belongs to the family Rosaceae, genus Prunus, along with almonds, peaches, plums, apricots and bird cherries. The subgenus, Cerasus, is distinguished by having the flowers in small corymbs of several together (not singly, nor in racemes), and by having a smooth fruit with only a weak groove or none along one side. The subgenus is native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with two species in America, three in Europe, and the remainder in Asia.

Contents

[edit] Species

Some common names listed here have historically been used for more than one species, e.g. "Rock cherry" is used as an alternative common name for both P. prostrata and P. mahaleb.

[edit] History

[edit] Etymology and antiquity

The cherry is generally understood to have been brought to Rome from northeastern Anatolia, historically known as the Pontus region, in 72 BC.[1] The city of Giresun in present-day Turkey was known to the ancient Greeks as Kerasous or Cerasus.

The English word cherry, French cerise, Spanish cereza all come from the Classical Greek (κέρασος) through the Latin cerasum, thus the ancient roman place name Cerasus, from which the cherry was first exported to Europe.[2]

[edit] Reintroduction into England

By the Middle Ages, however, cherries had disappeared in England. They were reestablished at Tyneham, near Sittingbourne in Kent by order of Henry VIII, who had tasted them in Flanders.[3][4][5]

[edit] Food value

Cherries contain anthocyanins, the red pigment in berries. Cherry anthocyanins have been shown to reduce pain and inflammation in rats.[6] Anthocyanins are also potent antioxidants under active research for a variety of potential health benefits. According to a study funded by the Cherry Marketing Institute presented at the Experimental Biology 2008 meeting in San Diego, rats that received whole tart cherry powder mixed into a high-fat diet did not gain as much weight or build up as much body fat, and their blood showed much lower levels of inflammation indicators that have been linked to heart disease and diabetes. In addition, they had significantly lower blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides than the other rats.[7]

[edit] Wildlife value

Cherry trees also provide food for the caterpillars of several Lepidoptera. See List of Lepidoptera which feed on Prunus.

[edit] Cultivation

The Wild Cherry (P. avium) has given rise to the Sweet Cherry, to which most cherry cultivars belong, and the Sour Cherry (P. cerasus), which is used mainly for cooking. Both species originate in Europe and western Asia; they do not cross-pollinate. The other species, although having edible fruit, are not grown extensively for consumption, except in northern regions where the two main species will not grow. Irrigation, spraying, labor and their propensity to damage from rain and hail make cherries relatively expensive. Nonetheless, there is high demand for the fruit.

[edit] Growing season

Cherries have a very short growing season and can grow anywhere, including the great cold of the tundra.[citation needed] In Australia they are usually at their peak around Christmas time, in southern Europe in June, in North America in June, in south British Columbia (Canada) in July-mid August and in the UK in mid July, always in the summer season. In many parts of North America they are among the first tree fruits to ripen.
Cherries (sweet, edible parts)
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 60 kcal   260 kJ
Carbohydrates     16 g
- Sugars  13 g
- Dietary fibre  2 g  
Fat 0.2 g
Protein 1.1 g
Vitamin C  7 mg 12%
Iron  0.4 mg 3%
Percentages are relative to US
recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient database

[edit] Ornamental trees

Besides the fruit, cherries also have attractive flowers, and they are commonly planted for ornamental purposes due to their flower display in spring; several of the Asian cherries are particularly noted for their flower displays. The Japanese sakura in particular are a national symbol celebrated in the yearly Hanami festival. Many flowering cherry cultivars (known as "ornamental cherries") have the stamens and pistils replaced by additional petals ("double" flowers), so are sterile and do not bear fruit. They are grown purely for their flowers and decorative value. The most common of these sterile cherries is the cultivar "Kanzan".

[edit] Commercial orcharding and production

Annual world production (as of 2007) of domesticated cherries is about two million tonnes. Around 40% of world production originates in Europe and around 13% in the United States.

Top Cherry Producing Nations - 2007
(in thousand metric tons)
 Turkey 398.1
 United States 310.7
 Iran 225
 Italy 145.1
 Russia 100
 Syria 75
 Spain 72.6
 Ukraine 68.2
 Romania 65.2
 Greece 62.8
World Total 2083.1
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations[8]

[edit] Europe

Major commercial cherry orchards in Europe extend from the Iberian peninsula east to Asia Minor, and to a smaller extent may also be grown in the Baltic States and southern Scandinavia.

[edit] United States

In the United States, most sweet cherries are grown in Washington, California, Oregon, and Northern Michigan.[9] Important sweet cherry cultivars include "Bing", "Brooks", "Tulare", "King" and "Rainier". Both Oregon and Michigan provide light-colored "Royal Ann" ('Napoleon'; alternately "Queen Anne") cherries for the maraschino cherry process. Most sour (also called tart) cherries are grown in Michigan, followed by Utah, New York, and Washington[9]. Additionally, native and non-native cherries grow well in Canada (Ontario and British Columbia). Sour cherries include Nanking and Evans Cherry. Traverse City, Michigan claims to be the "Cherry Capital of the World", hosting a National Cherry Festival and making the world's largest cherry pie. The specific region of Northern Michigan that is known the world over for tart cherry production is referred to as the "Traverse Bay" region. Farms in this region grown many varieties of cherries, sold through companies in the region.

[edit] Australia

In Australia, the New South Wales town of Young is famous as the "Cherry Capital of Australia" and hosts the internationally famous National Cherry Festival. Popular varieties include the "Montmorency", "Morello", "North Star", "Early Richmond", "Titans", and "Lamberts".

[edit] Gallery

Stella, Prunus avium

Ripe cherries, stacked and on display for sale on a market in Barcelona

Formation of the cherry fruit at beginning of May (France)

Cherries (variety Lambert)—watercolor 1894

Cherries with leaf

Yamagata cherries

Cherry opened.

Prunus avium ripening fruit

Cherries served in a bowl

A Cherry leaf with nectary glands on the stalk.

A young Gean or Wild Cherry leaf

Leaf tip nectary glands

Cherry tree from the village of Aita al-Foukhar in Lebanon

Cherries in Chester U.K.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^  "Pontus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Pontus. 
  2. ^ A History of the Vegetable Kingdom, Page 334.
  3. ^ The curious antiquary John Aubrey (1626–1697) noted in his memoranda: "Cherries were first brought into Kent tempore H. viii, who being in Flanders, and likeing (sic) the Cherries, ordered his Gardener, brought them hence, and propagated them in England." Oliver Lawson Dick, ed. (1949). Aubrey's Brief Lives. Edited from the Original Manuscripts. p. xxxv. 
  4. ^ "All the cherry gardens and orchards of Kent are said to have been stocked with the Flemish cherry from a plantation of 105 acres in Teynham, made with foreign cherries, pippins, and golden rennets, done by the fruiterer of Henry VIII." (Kent On-line: Teynham Parish)
  5. ^ The civic coat of arms of Sittingbourne with the crest of a "cherry tree fructed proper" were only granted in 1949, however.
  6. ^ Tall JM, Seeram NP, Zhao C, Nair MG, Meyer RA, Raja SN (2004). "Tart cherry anthocyanins suppress inflammation-induced pain behavior in rat". Behav. Brain Res. 153 (1): 181�"8. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2003.11.011. PMID 15219719. 
  7. ^ "Tart Cherries May Reduce Heart/Diabetes Risk Factors". Newswise, Retrieved on July 7, 2008.
  8. ^ "FAOSTAT: ProdSTAT: Crops". Food and Agriculture Organization. 2007. http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx?PageID=567. Retrieved on 07-02-2009. 
  9. ^ a b Cherry Production National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA, Retrieved on August 19, 2008.

[edit] External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cherry
Sister project Look up cherry in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
v • d • e
Cherry Cultivars
Sweet (Bigaroon, Mazzard)

Angela • Bing • Chelan • Chinook • Emperor Francis • Hudson • Lambert • Lapins • Rainier • Regina • Royal Ann (Napoleon) • Sam • Schmidt • Skeena • Stella • Sweetheart • Tieton • Ulster • Van
Sour (Amarelle, Morello)
Other edible
Ornamental
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry"
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