Cherry Blossoms in Newfoundland

Newfoundland is not particularly known for its cherry blossoms.  There are no fesitvals to mark the new blooms and they certainly are not plentiful. Yet, in the past couple of days cherry blossoms have emerged and have provided some pretty flowers to launch the growing season.  You just have to know where to look.

The province has two native cherry trees, the Pin Cherry and Choke Cherry.  Neither grow to become large trees so expect a heigth in the range of three to six metres.  An unfortunate identifying feature on the larger trees is Black Knot, a fungus which attacks the trees and appears as a large black lump on branches. The Pin Cherry is more common and appears throughout the province. It will produce small, edible berries in late summer. They are quite nice for nibbling.

On your hikes look for small, five-petal flowers with yellow centres.  It's the Pin Cherry.
T.