Of all the unusual names for cherries, few have raised as many questions as the Black Republican.
On a recent visit to McCormick Place, we explored the biodiversity in their rooftop garden. The specialist onsite was tending and harvesting spring items. She encouraged us “Eat the cherries! There are so many!” So we did and wow! The most juicy, delicious cherry I’ve ever had. She explained the tree was 5 years old and it was the first year it bore fruit. What a delight!
But it gets better! I asked her if it was some type of heritage varietal. She told us she got the seeds from Ark of Taste and that it’s a Black Republican Cherry Tree. I was curious so looked into this.
Here are excerpts from an article by Tyler Boudreaux:
“The story of the Black Republican cherry begins with Henderson Lewelling, the eldest son of a Quaker family who ran a successful nursery in Iowa in the late 1830s". [...] Today, his house in Salem is preserved as the Lewelling Quaker Museum. It’s also a federally recognized landmark, though not for its fruit trees — the Lewelling house was once a stop on the Underground Railroad".
"Located just 20 miles from the Missouri border, Salem was a Quaker settlement where runaway slaves were welcomed.”
It is always important to celebrate the significance of such history, but this week especially. Biodiversity is both plant and human diversity; they are naturally intertwined.
Read the full article here: https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/special-programming/blacker-the-cherry-republican-lewelling-abolition-horticulture
Image: SL Fruit Service
18 Sep 2024
The BBCH scale is used to describe and label the phenological stages of plants. The abbreviation BBCH derives from Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt und Chemische Industrie. Initially developed for cereals, later was adapted to other species, such as cherry.
05 Dec 2024
The objective of this study conducted by 3 Chilean universities was to determine the phenological time of onset of orange peel disorder in relation to several factors that could potentially influence the incidence of the disorder.
06 May 2026
PUCV research in Chile studies surface pitting in cherries, a defect that affects fruit quality, market value and cold storage. The project examines varieties, cell walls, membranes and water balance to reduce losses in exports to China and improve postharvest quality.
06 May 2026
A study in India shows that GA3 at 150 ppm improves germination, seedling vigor and nutrition in Prunus cerasoides, the Himalayan wild cherry, offering new opportunities for more uniform, efficient and sustainable rootstock production.
