Cherry
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| Cherries (sweet, edible parts) Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) |
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| Energy 60 kcal 260 kJ | ||||||||||||
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| Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient database |
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The word cherry refers to a fleshy fruit (drupe) that contains a single stony seed. The cherry belongs to the family Rosaceae, genus Prunus, along with almonds, peaches, plums, apricots and bird cherries. The subgenus, Cerasus, is distinguished by having the flowers in small corymbs of several together (not singly, nor in racemes), and by having a smooth fruit with only a weak groove or none along one side. The subgenus is native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with two species in America, three in Europe, and the remainder in Asia. The word "cherry" comes from the French word "cerise", which comes in turn from the Latin words cerasum and Cerasus.
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[edit] Background
The cherry is generally understood to have been brought to Rome from Persia. Giresun was known to the ancient Greeks as Choerades or Pharnacia and later as Kerasous or Cerasus, < Kerason < Kerasounta < Kerasus "horn" (for peninsula) in Greek + ounta "Greek toponomical suffix".[1] The name later mutated into Kerasunt (sometimes written Kérasounde or Kerassunde).
The English word cherry, French cerise, Spanish cereza, and Southern Italian dialect cerasa (standard Italian ciliegia) all come from Classical Greek κέρασος 'cherry', which has been identified with Cerasus. The cherry was first exported to Europe from Cerasus in Roman times. [1]
The Wild Cherry (P. avium) has given rise to the Sweet Cherry to which most cherry cultivars belong, and the Sour Cherry (P. cerasus) is used mainly for cooking. Both species originate in Europe and western Asia; they do not cross-pollinate each other. The other species, although having edible fruit, are not grown extensively for consumption, except in northern regions where the two main species will not grow. Given the high costs of production, from irrigation, sprays and labour costs, in addition to their proneness to damage from rain and hail, the cherry is relatively expensive. Nonetheless, there is high demand for the fruit.
Major commercial cherry orchards in Europe extend from the Iberian peninsula east to Asia Minor, and to a smaller extent may also be grown in the Baltic States and southern Scandinavia. In the United States, most sweet cherries for fresh use are grown in California and Washington. Important sweet cherry cultivars include 'Bing', 'Brooks', 'Tulare', 'King', and 'Rainier'. Oregon and Michigan provide light-coloured 'Royal Ann' ('Napoleon'; alternately 'Queen Anne') cherries for the maraschino cherry process. Most sour (also called tart) cherries are grown in four states bordering the Great Lakes, in Michigan (the largest producers of cherries among the states), New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, however, native and non-native cherries grow well in Canada (Ontario and British Columbia) as well. Sour cherries include Nanking and Evans Cherry. Traverse City, Michigan claims to be the "Cherry Capital of the World", hosting a National Cherry Festival and making the world's largest cherry pie. The specific region of Northern Michigan that is known the world over for tart cherry production is referred to as the "Traverse Bay" region. Farms in this region grown many varieties of cherries and companies like Traverse Bay Farms sell the fruit of the region. Likewise in Australia the New South Wales town of Young is famous nationwide as the "Cherry Capital of Australia", and also hosts the internationally famous National Cherry Festival. Popular varieties include the 'Montmorency', 'Morello', 'North Star', 'Early Richmond', 'Titans' and 'Lamberts'.
Cherries have a very long growing season and can grow anywhere, including the great cold of the tundra. In Australia they are usually at their peak around Christmas time, in southern Europe in June, in America in June, and in the UK in mid July, always in the summer season. In many parts of North America they are among the first tree fruits to ripen; hence the colloquial term "cherry" to mean "new" or "the first", e.g. "in cherry condition".
Annual world production (as of 2003) of domesticated cherries is about 45698 million tonnes, of which a third are sour cherries. Around 75 percent of world production originates in Europe.
Besides the fruit, cherries also have attractive flowers, and they are commonly planted for their flower display in spring; several of the Asian cherries are particularly noted for their flower displays. The Japanese sakura in particular are a national symbol celebrated in the yearly Hanami festival. Many flowering cherry cultivars (known as 'ornamental cherries') have the stamens and pistils replaced by additional petals ("double" flowers), so are sterile and do not bear fruit. They are grown purely for their flowers and decorative value. The most common of these sterile cherries is the cultivar 'Kanzan'. Cherry trees provide food for the caterpillars of several Lepidoptera. See List of Lepidoptera which feed on Prunus.
[edit] Medical benefits
Cherries contain anthocyanins, the red pigment in berries. Cherry anthocyanins have been shown to reduce pain and inflammation in rats.[2] Anthocyanins are also potent antioxidants under active research for a variety of potential health benefits.[3]
[edit] See also
- Sour Cherry of Kleparow
- Acerola
- Fruit tree forms
- Fruit tree propagation
- Fruit tree
- Marasca cherry
- Pruning fruit trees
- Sakura
[edit] References
- ^ A History of the Vegetable Kingdom - Page 334
- ^ Tall JM, Seeram NP, Zhao C, Nair MG, Meyer RA, Raja SN (2004). "Tart cherry anthocyanins suppress inflammation-induced pain behavior in rat". Behav. Brain Res. 153 (1): 181–8. doi:. PMID 15219719.
- ^ Gross PM (2007). Scientists zero in on health benefits of berry pigments. Natural Products Information Center 2007 Jul 9. [1]
[edit] Photo gallery
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 Stella, Prunus avium |
 Ripe cherries, stacked and on display for sale on a market in Barcelona |
 Formation of the cherry fruit at beginning of May (France) |
 White Cherry Flowers |
 Cherry blossoms |
 Washington, D.C. Tidal Basin showing cherry trees in flower |
 Cherry tree flowers |
 White Cherry Tree Blossoms |
 Cherries (variety Lambert) - watercolor 1894 |
 Cherries with leaf |
 Yamagata cherries |
 Cherry tree flowers |
 Pink Cherry Tree Blossoms |
 Cherry opened. |
 Prunus avium ripening fruit |
 Cherries served in a bowl |
 A bowl of cherries |
 A Cherry leaf with nectary glands on the stalk. |
 A young Gean or Wild Cherry leaf |
 Leaf tip nectary glands |
 Cherry tree from the village of Aita al-Foukhar in Lebanon |
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