Unknown Tree

[jezlee]

My wife and I went for a walk through Baggeridge Country Park in Staffs this morning and saw this small bush/tree with blossom already out in the sunshine. Can anybody identify what it is from the blossom? There were a few spindly twigs with leaves unfurled as well, and I have included a picture of the leaves. It was a small bush/tree, possibly Hawthorn size, although there were no thorns on the branches.

[ladyhawk]

looks like a cherry tree

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by ladyhawk

looks like a cherry tree

That's what I though..Isn't it a but early..

[Adam Cheeseman]

Cherry. Ornamental ones can start flowering in November.

Cheers,

Adam

[galanthus]

My plum tree blossom is out at the mo, around 1/3 of the tree, My plum has blossoms first then red leaves later, however, yours could be a different plum or as mentioned an early cherry ?

[naturelover]

cherry for me too.

[Cotham Marble]

What I think is surprising is that there are leaves fully out -the lack of obvious 'toothing' on leaves also has me a bit puzzled but I'd go for almond - Prunus dulcis.

CM

[hoobs]

The odds are this is Prunus cerasifera - The Cherry Plum. Widely planted as the grafted 'Pissard' variety. Don't worry, the cultivar is french and you don't pronounce the 'd'. This variety often suckers from the base to give the green leaved true species onto which it is grafted. The cherry plum fruit gives rise to the spread of the species. There are many plums, but the cherry plum is usually the first to flower at the same time as the sloe, which of course has thorns, suckers profusely, forming hedges rather than a standard tree.

[hoobs]

This sounds like a cherry plum cultivar. A very popular tree planted as a street tree in the 1930's. Still very popular, deservingly so.

[jezlee]

Many thanks for all your replies, people! I had a vague notion in my head that it could be an ornamental cherry, but it was in the middle of a nature reserve - could it have grown from a seed dropped by by a bird?