Sour Cherry

Also Fie Cherry, Red Cherry, Tart Cherry

The cherry’s botanical designation places it in the family of Roses, the genus of stone fruits, the species cerasus (through Greek from karsu, cherry, the word used by the Assyrians and Babylonians, who were probably the first to cultivate the fruit). Because the sour cherry had by prehistoric times already taken root in the area it now occupies (temperate Europe, Asia, and North America), there has been considerable disagreement among botanists (and etymologists) about its origin. It was one of the first trees to be cultivated by the colonists in Massachusetts, being easier to raise than its sister sweet cherry (Prunus avium), as it is much smaller and self-fruitful (most sweet cherries require pollinators).