Cherries are free, but you don’t have “cherry freedom”

Are the "cherries" in your mind really cherries? At least the "cherries" I knew when I was a child were actually European sweet cherries (Prunus avium, in the broad sense of the genus Prunus).

This is a name that looks very strange, and it sounds like an imported product from the other side of the mainland. In fact, it is the most common "cherry" in China now, while the cherry native to China (P. pseudocerasus) has gradually become unfamiliar to the Chinese.

European sweet cherry｜Johan Wouters / Buiten-beeld

Unlike Chinese cherries that are gradually fading from our sight, new varieties of European sweet cherries continue to enter China and have changed their identities several times, from "big cherries" to "sweet cherries" to "cherries", and finally became the "cherries" we are most familiar with.

The sweet cherry that comes later

European sweet cherries entered China very late, and were not introduced until 1871. Only more than 20 varieties were introduced to China before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China. It was not until the mid-1980s that the introduction of European sweet cherries finally became a boom . China successively introduced a large number of varieties from the United States, Canada, France, Japan, Ukraine and other countries. These excellent varieties quickly occupied the Chinese fruit market.

In today's fruit and vegetable market, this kind of "cherry" may be the most common｜pixabay

Until today, the first impression of "cherry" in the northern part of China is probably the European sweet cherry. I always thought there was only one kind of "cherry" until I went to Sichuan in early May a few years ago and ate "Enter" for the first time - the real cherry native to China.

In fact, Chinese cherries have good cold and heat resistance , and there is no problem in cultivating them outdoors in Beijing. The fruit yield is large and even sweeter than most European sweet cherry varieties.

Although Chinese cherries have many advantages, they are still too small . The original fruit is only slightly larger than a pea. It also has a more fatal problem - the skin of Chinese cherries is too thin and not very durable in storage . It will quickly deteriorate if it is slightly bumped. Therefore, we can still only eat Chinese cherries near the production area. Even though there are many Chinese cherries cultivated in Beijing, they are rarely seen for sale in the vegetable market. They can only be seen occasionally during the days when Chinese cherries are harvested.

Of course, the Chinese cherries we eat today may have also been bred, but it is still difficult to make them as big as European sweet cherries.

Crossed the ocean and was eaten by you

Cherries used to be a very seasonal fruit, similar to Chinese cherries. Now we can eat cherries for a long time, thanks to cherry breeders who have cultivated varieties with different fruiting periods . The harvest time of the same cherry variety is very short, and varieties with different fruiting periods have been taking over, so European sweet cherries can dominate the Chinese fruit market for a long time. In order to harvest cherries in early spring and occupy the fruit market, many fruit farmers began to use greenhouses to grow early-maturing varieties such as "Meizao", which further advanced the time for cherries to be put on the market.

However, even greenhouse cherries cannot guarantee winter supply. The reason why we can eat off-season "cherries" in winter is that most of them are shipped across the Pacific Ocean from Chile and other South American countries - our winter is their summer. Compared with the common cherry varieties in China, these cherry varieties imported from Chile can be stored longer under refrigerated conditions. However, European sweet cherries are still one of the less resistant fruits to storage, and the cost of importing them is relatively high, so it is still difficult for us to achieve "cherry freedom" today.

Of course, you can still enjoy cherry blossoms freely. Pictured is the flower of European sweet cherry｜Yu Tianyi

In recent years, China has been constantly introducing new European sweet cherry varieties, and at the same time, China has also been crossbreeding foreign varieties. Among the domestic varieties, the famous "Red Light" has large fruits and bright colors, and it is still a very popular variety today.

Since old European sweet cherry trees are more susceptible to disease and their yields drop significantly, orchards often need to be replaced , and newer, better varieties can be tried at this time. Therefore, we may actually buy new European sweet cherry varieties every year.

Old European sweet cherry trees grown at Kew Gardens｜Yu Tianyi

So, are there "sour" cherries?

As the name suggests, European sweet cherries are relatively sweet, while their closest relative , European sour cherries, are not as sweet. European sour cherries are mainly used to decorate desserts, or to make canned cherries and cherry syrup. When we eat cherries on cakes or cherry-flavored desserts, we often smell a strong smell that is completely different from the European sweet cherries we usually eat. That is the unique flavor of European sour cherries.

European sour cherries are rarely cultivated and are almost invisible in China. They are slightly different in morphology from European sweet cherries: the pedicels of European sour cherries are firmer and do not droop noticeably when blooming , while the pedicels of European sweet cherries are longer and softer, and basically droop when the flowers bloom.

Flowers of European sour cherry｜Yu Tianyi

European sweet cherry calyx tube is smooth and hairless, and the calyx lobes are strongly curled｜Yu Tianyi

The scenery is as spectacular as Yoshino cherry blossoms

Of course, European sweet cherries are not only fruit trees, but also ornamental plants. European sweet cherries have large and lush flowers, and their flowering period is much longer than that of Japanese cherry blossoms. In the cool climate of the UK, they can last for more than a month. When the flowers wither, a large number of flowers fall off as a whole, instead of falling petals by petals like cherry blossoms. From a distance, it looks like the ground is covered with daisies.

In addition, the lifespan of European sweet cherries is longer than that of many cherry trees. In the UK, you can see many old European sweet cherry trees that are more than ten meters tall. When they bloom, the trees are snow-white, like clouds and mist, and the scenery is as spectacular as Somei Yoshino.

Old European sweet cherry trees, with flowers as white as snow when in full bloom｜Yu Tianyi

European sweet cherry also has a double-petal variety, Prunus avium 'Plena', which is a sterile variety that cannot bear fruit. It is as common in the UK as the single-petal European sweet cherry. Its flowers are not as big as the Japanese late cherry, but the flower shape is very cute. It is not like the stretched ballet skirt of the Japanese late cherry, but a very round ball. Its flowering period is later and longer than the single-petal European sweet cherry. In the UK, it blooms at the same time as the late cherry, but the flowering period is longer than the late cherry.

European sweet cherry double variety Prunus avium 'Plena'｜vdberk.co.uk

In fact, the boundary between cherry and cherry blossom is not clear, and many fruit cherry species can also be used for viewing flowers. In recent years, several Chinese cherry varieties have been cultivated for viewing flowers, such as "Qingfu" cherry and "Taishanxiang" cherry.

Isn’t there such a cute little thing around you that is either sweet or sour, or pleasing to the eye?

Finally, in this winter, let’s reminisce about the flowers of spring｜Yu Tianyi

Author: @Yu Tianyi.

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)