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Can someone tell me the name of this tree, please

(35 Posts)
grandtanteJE65 Mon 12-Jun-23 13:21:23

Just that please.

A friend suggested Frangula, but that is supposed to be a bush or shrub and this is a tree with very smooth bark and it is over twelve metres tall.

It has small hard fruit that resemble very small cherries and which are nearly black in colour. I doubt they are edible, as not even the birds seem to be keen on them.

The soil it grows in is damp with a lot of clay in it and the tree is in shade nearly all day.

Beechnut Mon 12-Jun-23 13:31:37

Could it be Laurel although I can’t remember seeing flowers.

Casdon Mon 12-Jun-23 13:36:14

It looks like it could be prunus padus, which is also known as bird cherry?

M0nica Mon 12-Jun-23 13:38:32

Could be cherry laurel, an invasive shrub like Rhododendrum Ponticum.

We had one in the garden of our last house. I loved it.

Gin Mon 12-Jun-23 13:41:20

Whitethorn?

mummytummy Mon 12-Jun-23 13:48:48

It looks like the Black Cherry, Prunus Serotina 😊

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_serotina

Kittye Mon 12-Jun-23 14:06:17

I think it’s a Black Cherry

MiniMoon Mon 12-Jun-23 16:34:41

According to Google lens its a bird cherry, a tree in the rose family.
This article tells you all about it.

Shrub Mon 12-Jun-23 17:30:45

My vote is for Prunus serrotina. 😀

NotSpaghetti Mon 12-Jun-23 18:08:17

I have flowers quite like this on my laurel, beechnut.

NotSpaghetti Mon 12-Jun-23 18:10:55

If you google "laurel blossom" you may be able to compare.

My laurel is not so tall and spreads outwards more.

grandtanteJE65 Tue 13-Jun-23 16:46:03

Thanks, I believe it is bird cherry - it is most certainly a tree not a shrub and the flowers and fruit are different from the ones on our laurel bush.

25Avalon Wed 14-Jun-23 08:01:19

Cherry laurel or Portugal laurel, probably the former. It is not Bird Cherry as some have suggested - I have one of these in my garden and it flowered back in April.

Juliet27 Wed 14-Jun-23 08:08:32

How about Prunus Virginiana Schubert Virginia Bird Cherry

www.paramountplants.co.uk/large-image/pvs/prunus-virginiana-schubert.html

Coolgran65 Wed 14-Jun-23 08:12:57

It looks very like my Portuguese Laurel which is in bloom at present. Mine is in a large pot on my patio.

25Avalon Wed 14-Jun-23 08:19:10

If it’s a Laurel tree the leaves will be evergreen. If it’s British Bird Cherry it is deciduous as is the Virginia Bird Cherry also called Chokeberry, native to the US, whose leaves turn red in Autumn before falling. So come the Autumn you will know.

Katie59 Wed 14-Jun-23 08:57:20

Probably Cherry Laurel, very unusual to get to 12m - 40ft often used for hedging, leaves are poisonous as all Laurels

midgey Wed 14-Jun-23 10:08:51

There is a local overgrown laurel that is taller than the house it grows near. I’m not sure they ever stop going up unless they are cut back. I think it looks like laurel.

Callistemon21 Wed 14-Jun-23 11:11:22

Is it "Itea Henry's Garnet ilicifolia - Virginian Willow"?

www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/itea-henrys-garnet-ilicifolia-virginian-willow?fee=2&irclickid=U5CR0k0ODxyPRPB3CHVNZzC%3AUkF0-HX9E3P93A0&irgwc=1&Source=Im&utm_source=Impact&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=1812968

Gwyllt Wed 14-Jun-23 12:59:54

Looks like bird cherry to me also. I have one in garden too. As it fell down when we moved in the shoots from the base have flowered for the first year. Eagerly awaiting to see the fruit as a saw on net you can make a liquor in a similar fashion to sloe gin

Rainnsnow Sat 17-Jun-23 11:47:57

It is a black cherry according to my recognition app on my iPhone.

AreWeThereYet Sat 17-Jun-23 13:37:58

It looks a lot like the laurel in our neighbour's garden, which is about 20 ft tall and currently spreading 6 ft over their fence. It has black fruits later that the wood pigeons eat and then splat all over our drive.

Callistemon21 Sat 17-Jun-23 13:59:33

AreWeThereYet

It looks a lot like the laurel in our neighbour's garden, which is about 20 ft tall and currently spreading 6 ft over their fence. It has black fruits later that the wood pigeons eat and then splat all over our drive.

That's why I thought it could be Itea Henry's Garnet ilicifolia - Virginian Willow because the leaves look similar to laurel or bay.

Our bay tree has white flowers but they in smaller clusters.

Callistemon21 Sat 17-Jun-23 14:02:17

Bay tree:

62Granny Sat 17-Jun-23 14:28:45

It looked like an Elder the flowers are white and the berries that come after are purplish black, do the flowers smell a bit like cats pee ?