Birchbark Cherry, Paperbark Cherry               PRO-nus SER-u-la

• Deciduous tree, 20-30 ft (6-9 m), rounded.  Bark can be a glossy red-brown, mahogany-like, which ultimately peels; handsome in winter when well exposed.  Leaves simple, lanceolate, 5-10 cm long, regularly serrate (serrula: with small serrations).  Flowers white, 1.5-2 cm wide, grouped in 1-3, nodding, stalks 1.2 cm long, produced in mid-spring with, and hidden, by foliage.  Fruit oval, bright red, about 0.6 cm long.
• Sun.  Susceptible to cankers, borers, etc.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 5      Native to central China.
• Also being used as an interstem (interstock) for some Japanese flowering cherries, especially some Prunus serrulata cultivars such as ‘Kanzan’ and ‘Mt. Fuji’, to provide winter interest with its mahogany-like bark.
• Oregon State Univ. campus: northeast of Education, on 15th St.