THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Cherry

Lisa Karen Miller

          Joseph and a very pregnant Mary were walking in a cherry orchard. She asked him to pick her some fruit, but he replied, “Why don’t you ask the one who got you with child?”

         We will be kind to Joseph and assume he was tired and cranky that day.  

         Immediately, the cherry tree swept its boughs down to the ground so Mary could eat.  Upon seeing this, Joseph repented of his harsh words.

          He may have cast one or two fearful glances skyward as well.

          In the hills of Zurich, Switzerland, a cherry tree will always bear abundantly if its first fruits are eaten by a woman who has just given birth to her first child.

          The national flower of Japan also serves as the flower of April in China.

Ornamental and fruiting cherries are native to China, but the wild cherry hails from Northern Europe. Scots called it hackberry (hag berry) and believed it belonged to witches; they feared cutting one down would incur their wrath. 

          In the South of England, Prunus padus is associated with the cuckoo. It is believed the bird will not cease singing for the season until it has had its fill of cherries three times over. Children used this “life years” rhyme:

“Cuckoo, cherry tree, a true answer please give;

How many years do I have to live?”

The number of the cuckoo’s calls told them. Sometimes they shook the tree and counted the fallen cherries.         

          Wild cherry fruits are not particularly tasty, but they can be used to flavor gin or brandy.  A slip of cherry wood carried in the pocket was reputed to protect against poison ivy. A cherry that blossoms in the autumn predicts either a harsh winter or a family death.

          The hard and finely-grained wood is prized by furniture makers.  Its large burrs with unusual grains are sought by wood turners to make bowls and other household objects.

          Portland, Oregon is America’s Cherry City.  Visit in April to enjoy a feast of pink blossoms on the waterfront.  These trees were a gift from Japan for the 1990 dedication of the Japanese American Historical Plaza.

           Washington, D. C. also boasts quite a collection of these beauties.  It was Mrs. Taft who suggested planting cherries around the tidal basin.  The Japanese ambassador graciously offered to donate them.  In 1910, 2,000 trees arrived from Japan.

          All were infested with insects.

          President Taft had them felled and burned, and the Mayor of Tokyo sent 3,000 more vermin-free specimens.                   

For sweetness and beauty, the cherry is unparalleled. Don’t hesitate to pick some for your beloved.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller