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.

Background

The cherry is generally understood to have been brought to Rome from northeastern Anatolia, historically known as the Pontus region, in 72 BC. The city of Giresun in present-day Turkey 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). 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 the Classical Greek κέρασος "cherry", which has been identified with Cerasus. The cherry was first exported to Europe from Cerasus in Roman times. By the Middle Ages, cherries had disappeared in England. They were reestablished at Tyneham, near Sittingbourne in Kent by order of Henry VIII, who had tasted them in Flanders.

The Wild Cherry (P. avium) has given rise to the Sweet Cherry, to which most cherry cultivars belong, and the Sour Cherry (P. cerasus), which is used mainly for cooking. Both species originate in Europe and western Asia; they do not cross-pollinate. 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. Irrigation, spraying, labor and their propensity to damage from rain and hail make cherries 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 are grown in Washington, California, Oregon, and Northern Michigan.Cherry Production National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA, Retrieved on August 19, 2008. Important sweet cherry cultivars include "Bing", "Brooks", "Tulare", "King" and "Rainier". Both Oregon and Michigan provide light-colored "Royal Ann" ('Napoleon'; alternately "Queen Anne") cherries for the maraschino cherry process. Most sour (also called tart) cherries are grown in Michigan, followed by Utah, New York, and Washington. Additionally, native and non-native cherries grow well in Canada (Ontario and British Columbia). 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, sold through companies in the region.