Cherries

A cherry (originally "cherise" reinterpreted as a plural, from the Old French word, in turn from

Latin cerasum and Cerasus - i.e., the Classical name of the modern city of Giresun in Turkey) is

both a tree and its fleshy fruit, a type known as a drupe with a single hard stone enclosing the

seed. The cherry belongs to the family Rosaceae, genus Prunus (along with almonds, peaches, plums,

apricots and bird cherries). The cherries belong in subgenus Cerasus, distinguished from the rest

of the genus by having the flowers in small corymbs of several together (not singly, nor in

racemes), and in the fruit being smooth and having 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 North

America, three in Europe, and the remainder in Asia.

The cherries selected for eating are derived from just two species, the Wild Cherry (P.

avium), which has given rise to the Sweet Cherry to which most cherry cultivars belong, and the

Sour Cherry or Morello Cherry (P. cerasus), used mainly for cooking and jam making. Both species

originate in Europe and western Asia. The other species, although having edible fruit, are not

grown extensively for consumption.

Major commercial cherry orchards in Europe extend from the Iberian peninsula east to Asia

Minor; they are also grown to a smaller extent north to the British Isles and southern Scandinavia.

In the United States, most sweet cherries are grown in the west. California and Washington supply

mainly sweet cherries intended for fresh use. Major sweet cherry cultivars include the 'Bing',

'Brooks', 'Tulare', 'King', and 'Rainier'. Oregon and Michigan provide light-coloured 'Royal Ann'

('Napoleon') cherries for the maraschino cherry process. Most sour cherries are grown in four

states bordering the Great Lakes, in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. 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.

Cherries have a very short fruiting season. In Australia, they are usually at their peak

around Christmas time, in southern Europe in June, in America in June, and in the UK in mid July.

Annual world production (as of 2003) of cherries is about 3 million tonnes, of which a third are

sour cherries.