Loveliest of trees, the cherry now

Is hung with bloom along the bough,

And stands about the woodland ride

Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten,

Twenty will not come again,

And take from seventy springs a score,

It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom

Fifty springs are little room,

About the woodlands I will go

To see the cherry hung with snow.

Contributed by Zoe Ingold, Department of Biology

by Zoe Ingold, Department of Biology

Wild cherry trees (Prunus avium) are an important food source for wildlife. Pollinators love the flowers and, later in the year, the fruit is popular with various bird species. The cherries we buy in the supermarket come from trees descended from wild cherry trees. We can eat these wild fruits too! Wild cherry trees haven’t been bred for flavourful, large and abundant fruit, in fact they are often considered purely ornamental, so their fruits are best cooked rather than eaten raw. 

Make sure that you only collect ripe fruit from plentiful sources and leave enough behind for the animals. 

Wild Cherry Jam

500 g pitted wild cherries

500 g jam sugar (or normal sugar with fruit pectin to preference)

Juice of half a lemon

Any spices you desire 

Sterilised glass jars 

1. Thoroughly wash your cherries and destone them

2. Chop roughly, or lightly mash, and place them in a saucepan

3. Add in the lemon juice and any spices you are using

4. Simmer them or about 15-20 mins, until they are tender and broken down

5. Add in the sugar, turn the heat up and stir until dissolved

6. Hold the jam at boiling point for 2-4 mins before bringing off the heat and pouring into your sterile jars

7. Cool to room temperature before refrigerating 

This jam can be eaten with bread, used as a cake filling or even just spooned over yoghurt. If you can only gather a few cherries then you can substitute in some peaches, plums or other berries too!