The St Lucie cherry is gracing the Gilbert Carter Woodland with its delicate blossom.
A member of the rose family (Rosaceae), the genus Prunus contains over 200 species of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs from Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Some members of the genus are familiar native species, such as P. padus (bird cherry) and P. spinosa (blackthorn, or sloe), and others have been raised to produce a myriad selection of widely grown cultivars, including P. x yedoensis (Yoshino cherry). Other members of the genus are less familiar, but are still highly valuable, including P. mahaleb (St Lucie cherry). This species can exceed 10m in height, and bears racemes of up 6- 0 pure white flowers, which are more delicate in appearance than many of the cultivars. It produces thin-fleshed, ovoid, cherry-like fruits whose fragrant seeds resemble bitter almonds, which are used as a flavouring in Turkey, Greece and Armenia. It grows on dry slopes, and in thickets and woodlands in central and southern Europe, and thrives here in the Garden.