What is "prunus cerasus"

Cherry \Cher"ry\ (ch[e^]r"r[y^]), n. [OE. chery, for cherys, fr. F. cerise (cf. AS. cyrs cherry), fr. LL. ceresia, fr. L. cerasus Cherry tree, Gr. keraso`s, perh. fr. ke`ras horn, from the hardness of the wood.]

1. (Bot.) A tree or shrub of the genus Prunus (Which also includes the plum) bearing a fleshy drupe with a bony stone;

   1. The common garden cherry ( Prunus Cerasus), of which several hundred varieties are cultivated for the fruit, some of which are, the begarreau, blackheart, black Tartarian, oxheart, morelle or morello, May-duke (corrupted from M['e]doc in France).

   2. The wild cherry; as, Prunus serotina (wild black cherry), valued for its timber; Prunus Virginiana (choke cherry), an American shrub which bears astringent fruit; Prunus avium and Prunus Padus, European trees (bird cherry).

2. The fruit of the cherry tree, a drupe of various colors and flavors.

3. The timber of the cherry tree, esp. of the black cherry, used in cabinetmaking, etc.

4. A peculiar shade of red, like that of a cherry. Barbadoes cherry. See under Barbadoes. Cherry bird (Zo["o]l.), an American bird; the cedar bird; -- so called from its fondness for cherries. Cherry bounce, cherry brandy and sugar. Cherry brandy, brandy in which cherries have been steeped. Cherry laurel (Bot.), an evergreen shrub ( Prunus Lauro-cerasus) common in shrubberies, the poisonous leaves of which have a flavor like that of bitter almonds. Cherry pepper (Bot.), a species of Capsicum ( Capsicum cerasiforme), with small, scarlet, intensely piquant cherry-shaped fruit. Cherry pit.

   1. A child's play, in which cherries are thrown into a hole.
      --Shak.

   2. A cherry stone.

      Cherry rum, rum in which cherries have been steeped.

      Cherry sucker (Zo["o]l.), the European spotted flycatcher ( Musicapa grisola); -- called also cherry chopper cherry snipe.

      Cherry tree, a tree that bears cherries.

      Ground cherry, Winter cherry, See Alkekengi.

marasca cherry \marasca cherry\ n. (Bot.) A Dalmation bitter wild cherry tree ( Prunus cerasus marasca) bearing fruit whose juice is made into maraschino liqueur.

Syn: marasca, maraschino cherry.

amarelle \amarelle\ n.

1. 1 any of several varieties of cultivated sour cherry trees of the species Prunus cerasus bearing fruit with colorless juice, e.g. Prunus cerasus caproniana.

2. a pale red sour cherry with colorless or nearly colorless juice.

Prunus cerasus (sour cherry, tart cherry, or dwarf cherry) is a species of Prunus in the subgenus Cerasus ( cherries), native to much of Europe and southwest Asia. It is closely related to the sweet cherry ( Prunus avium), but has a fruit that is more acidic, and has greater nutritional benefits. The nutritional differences between the sweet and the tart or sour cherries are displayed at the general page for the fruit.

The tree is smaller than the sweet cherry (growing to a height of 4–10 m), has twiggy branches, and its crimson-to-near-black cherries are borne upon shorter stalks. There are several varieties of the sour cherry: the dark-red morello cherry and the lighter-red varieties including the amarelle cherry. and the popular Montmorency cherry. The Montmorency cherry is the most popular type of sour cherry. The reason for its popularity is its use in baking and recipe creation. including cherry pies, cherry desserts and other cherry-based recipes.