Bird Cherry: Prunus padus
Element: Water
Whilst inconspicuous for most of the year, in April, Bird Cherry is a glorious display of candles of blossom.
It is a native tree of the UK, mostly found in the more northern parts from East Anglia up. It is rarer in southern Britain, especially so in the south west.
It has a confusing folklore picture. One of its folk names is Hagberry which comes from Scots and it does have deep associations with witches in many communities. Whilst in others, it is considered a tree of protection. In Wester Ross a walking stick made from Bird Cherry would save you from becoming lost in the mist.
The bark is rich in tannins, antioxidants, and other compounds. It has an acrid smell, which has been used to deter rodents from eating crops. It was said that hanging Bird Cherry bark at your door would keep the plague away – another example of folklore pointing to the science of plants, as Bird Cherry has astringent, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. The bark was also used as a dye, principally for fishing nets.
The nectar from Bird Cherries is a vital source of food for pollinators in early spring and later in the year the dark, bitter cherries are prized by birds such as the song thrush and blackbird, who can strip a tree in a matter of days, while badgers, dormice, wood mice and yellow-necked mice hoover up the windfalls.
A fascinating behaviour of cherries is how they produce nectar from glands on their leaf stalks, which attracts ants who see off all manner of leaf predators from caterpillars to aphids.
This music was recorded in early October, as the tree was moving towards its winter slumber. It has such a sweet, gentle rhythm to remind us how much we are part of the undulating swell of life, woven into the fabric of being that binds our futures and pasts together as one.
Bird Cherry. Recorded October 2025
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