Please ID Beautiful Mid-Michigan Trees

[Taylor Hedrich]

Hello everyone,
I recently discovered a beautiful tree back in our Mid-Michigan woods. We are not sure what it is. It appears to multiply easily, as there are quite a few small babies scattered around the 2 adult trees that we have discovered. There is a smaller tree (about 15 or 20 feet high) next to a bigger tree (about 45-50 feet high). Around that general area anyway, as I'm not so good with estimating measurements like that.
We loved the looks of the tree so much that we brought about 4 babies up to the house and planted them in the yard. I would like to know as much info as I can about this species, or even if you can all agree on a name, that would help greatly as I could search for information on it on the internet.
Here are some enclosed pictures of the tree. I tried to get many different angles for a proper ID.

The main part of the younger tree in the woods:

Some close-up shots to show the smooth bark and the red leaf like flower petals:

Another close-up of what appears to be something that will flower out soon?:

Here is a full picture of the younger tree:

A close-up of the smooth bark on the largest tree of the two:

A picture of one of the offspring we dug up and planted in our back yard:

Thanks in advance for your help. Like I said, even a name or general name of the species could be a great help to me.
~Taylor~

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Good pics, and you are catching it at a good time of year when it flowers. Flowers are a good help to identifying a tree. The AAW tree ID links are listed here

 

[underdog]

Does it bear fruit?

It seems very much like some kind of fruit tree, like Cherry or Plum.

The long serrated leaves alternate on the branches, and the blossoms are distinctive as well. Should all be a dead giveaway in a Tree ID book. It's getting late here or I'd take a gander through my books.

 

[n7bsn]

I already looked in mine and found zip, other then the flowers don't appear to match any plum/cherry/fruit tree I could find.

 

[MichaelMouse]

Looks like some sort of apple to me. From the one picture, it appears it may be on a fencerow, which would be a common place for a volunteer apple to show up. Farmer pitches the core as he plows past. We've a lot of volunteer apples along roads here, where the kids used to pitch the cores on the way to school. Most never have much fruit, growing from seed and all, and when they do, it's generally the kind only a deer could love.

Doesn't match the bark too well. That looks like my sugarplums or alder. Plums have prominent thorns, though, and could not be confused with much else. The red crab out front stays smooth fairly long, though not quite as smooth as the pictures of yours.

 

[dkulze]

Bark's wrong for apple, though the flowers are the right shape and color for crabapple. I'll second the guess for some type of plum or cherry. Bark is right on for that. Leaves are the right shape too. Haven't seen any pink flowering cherry/plum though.

My guess would be it's not native.

Dietrich

 

[Mark Mandell]

I'm gonna put in a vote for cherry, and most likely "bitter" or "sour" cherry from the look. It's another common field border tree,having been spread by birds roosting in the treeline.

You should have confirmation shortly when those bud pop and bloom.

Let us know.

M

 

[Wilford Bickel]

Wild Cherry

Looks just like the wild cherry bark and leaves we have here on the farm. Be aware that while standing and green livestock will nibble the leaves with no real damage. If the leaves wilt after a heavy frost or tree blows down, limb blows off the wilted leaves fill with arsenic and become deadly to livestock. And for some reason cows are dumb enough they actually like the taste of the wilted leaves! Turns wonderful!

Wilford

 

[Mike Cunningham]

Cherry

I vote for cherry, what we call ornamental cherry.

 

[Jake Debski]

It has all the characteristics, except for the sharp spikes, of what we locally call a "pin cherry." 🙂

 

[MichaelMouse]

Looks just like the wild cherry bark and leaves we have here on the farm. Be aware that while standing and green livestock will nibble the leaves with no real damage. If the leaves wilt after a heavy frost or tree blows down, limb blows off the wilted leaves fill with arsenic and become deadly to livestock. And for some reason cows are dumb enough they actually like the taste of the wilted leaves! Turns wonderful!
Wilford

Hydrogen cyanide. Precursors made from the elements of the air. If there's no arsenic in the ground, none in the leaves.

Some folks would almost rather have leeks in the reach of their cows as cherry. Which reminds me, I can finish the rest of last year's now without worry of running out.

 

[Erwin Nistler]

My guess is chokecherry. When the fruit turns blue in fall taste it. You will soon know. Chokecherries are ok to eat. Make good jelly mixed with wild grapes. Let us know what the fruit looks like and how it tastes.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Maybe apricot -- I think that all plum blossoms are white.
Bill

 

[Keith T.]

Tree ID

I believe the tree in your photos is a Chokecherry, easily identified by the flowers and leaves. The flowers will be clusters of tiny white blossoms, the fruit will be dark maroon, almost black. The fruit taste terrible, although birds eat them readily. The fruit, when crushed, will stain garments permanently.(I Have several of these trees in my yard, when mowing under them, the fruit falls off, I end up sitting on and crushing them.)

 

[dkulze]

Keith, I'm pretty sure the blossoms he showed were bright pink. Saw some on TV last night that looked the exact color. Was peach. That's what I'm upgrading my guess to.

Dietrich

 

[Bill Boehme]

Keith, I'm pretty sure the blossoms he showed were bright pink. Saw some on TV last night that looked the exact color. Was peach. That's what I'm upgrading my guess to.

Dietrich

Southern peaches don't have glossy leaves and I suppose that neither do northern peaches. The bark is too dark and the tree is rather tall for a peach which also usually has a lot of branching starting very low.
Bill

 

[n7bsn]

I believe the tree in your photos is a Chokecherry, easily identified by the flowers and leaves. The flowers will be clusters of tiny white blossoms, the fruit will be dark maroon, almost black. The fruit taste terrible, although birds eat them readily. The fruit, when crushed, will stain garments permanently.(I Have several of these trees in my yard, when mowing under them, the fruit falls off, I end up sitting on and crushing them.)

I doubt it's chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) , since these photo's flowers don't appear white.

 

[MichaelMouse]

Bud Cases

Took the camera with me as I drove another wagonload of shavings to a low spot. As I have eaten jelly from the fruit of these trees for years, I am confident it is chokecherry. Jelly is one of the few with flavor strong enough to accent peanut butter. Wild plum is another.

Our black cherry look to be a few days behind, barely opening, like the plum, but their bark gets dark and mature in form with flakes and all by the time they reach the diameter of the grayer choke-cherry bark.

 

[underdog]

Hey.. see I told you it was a fruit tree... 😀

Good call Michael. Good call. It's a dead ringer.