National Cherry Month
Since prehistoric times, cherries have been consumed across their range of origin: Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. In 72 BCE, a Roman general, Lucius Licinius Lucullus, brought the fruit to Rome from Anatolia (Asia Minor/Turkey). According to legend, they were accidentally spread across the Roman Empire as soldiers discarded the pits. Henry VIII ordered this sweet fruit to be introduced to England. Subsequently, in 1606, they arrived in North America with the New France colony of Port Royal, which today is in Nova Scotia. US cherry growing began in 1852. Peter Dougherty planted sweet cherry Prunus avium trees on Old Mission Peninsula, Michigan. The climate was ideal; Traverse City, Michigan , is now the unofficial “Cherry Capital of the World.” Today, tart/sour cherries Prunus cerasus are widely grown in this region. The famous Washington, DC cherry trees were gifted from Japan in 1912. They are ornamental cultivars grown for the beauty of th...