# Difference between wild plum and pin cherry?



## Vera (Aug 22, 2003)

I'm trying to figure out which is which... there are two different smallish trees growing in my neighborhood, they're almost identical except for the bark and the scent of the blossoms. One has roughish gray bark and very fragrant blossoms (think jasmine), the other has smooth dark red bark and no scent. Going by the growing conditions, location, blossoms, leaves, etc., I've narrowed it down to pin cherry and wild plum, but even after scrutinizing a ton of Google pictures, I can't tell which is which! Help, please?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

using this site...

http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/data_results_with_commonb.cfm?state=unknown

i found an *american plum * and a *fire cherry*

it says the plum has 1 inch blossums and the cherry has 1/2 inch blossums.

does that help?


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

The plum is the one with the fragrent scented blossoms compared to the unscented blossoms of chokecherries. 


pic below is plum blossoms. These have just popped in the last couple days, about a week after the chokecherry blossomed. The flowers are smaller than those of the chokecherry and have a wonderful subtle frangrence:










chokecherry blossoms below, and are not scented like the plum blossoms in picture above:










ETA:
I'm not sure about the difference in blossoms of pin cherry compared to chokecherry, but to differentiate them when the fruit appears..... Pin cherry produce fruit in clusters, with stems arising from the same point, whereas chokecherry bear fruit on a central axis


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## KRH (Jun 12, 2004)

The wild plums here have grey bark and the cherries choke and black are red barked.


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## Vera (Aug 22, 2003)

Great!! Now I know  Thanks bunches, guys!


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