It is native throughout the UK and Europe, except the far north. The second part of its botanical name – ‘avium’ refers to birds, which eat the cherries and disperse the seed. In Scotland, cherry is sometimes referred to as ‘gean’.
Cherry trees are hermaphrodite, meaning the male and female reproductive parts are found in the same flower, in April. Flowers are white and cup-shaped, they hang in clusters of two to six.
After pollination by insects, the flowers develop into globular, hairless deep red cherries.