Which tree has black berries? Sort it by leaf and cluster

Drooping strings of black cherries: black cherry and chokecherry

If the black fruits hang in long, drooping strings like small bunches of grapes, the tree is almost certainly a wild cherry.

Black cherry is the big one, a forest and fencerow tree of 60 to 80 feet. The NC State profile describes fragrant white flowers in drooping clusters 3 to 6 inches long in late April and May, followed by purple-black cherries about 3/8 inch across that ripen in late summer. The leaves are 3 to 6 inches long, narrow, with fine incurved teeth. Young bark is shiny with lenticels; old bark breaks into a dark, scaly, flaky pattern. NC State rates the fruit, leaves and seeds as toxic, says ingestion is likely to cause death in livestock and pets, and advises people not to eat the fruit. The cherry page separates black cherry from planted and other wild cherries.

Chokecherry is the northern and western answer, a likely answer for searches from Minnesota, Ontario and Alberta. NC State describes it as a large shrub or small tree of 20 to 30 feet that forms dense thickets by spreading underground, with thin, smooth, dark brown to gray bark. Its fruit is red at first and turns black when ripe. The leaves are toothed and taper to a long, slender tip, and crushed leaves have a strong, bitter smell. NC State lists the stems, leaves and seeds as containing cyanide, particularly when wilting.

Few berries on long stalks: black tupelo

A tree with glossy, smooth-edged leaves and only one to three blue-black fruits per long stalk is a black tupelo, also called black gum. The NC State profile gives fruit 3/8 to 1/2 inch long on stalks up to 1 1/2 inches, ripening from late summer through fall, on female trees only. The leaves are 3 to 6 inches long with blunt tips and turn brilliant yellow, orange, red or purple in fall. Old bark breaks into hard, square blocks. It grows from southern Ontario through the central and eastern United States. The black gum page covers the tree in detail.

Berries like blackberries: mulberry

If the black fruit looks like a stretched blackberry, the tree is a mulberry. Female trees bear cylindrical clusters about 1/2 to 1 1/4 inches long that ripen red, then dark purple or black, in early to mid summer. Snap a leaf stalk: mulberries bleed milky sap. The leaves are toothed and come in several shapes on the same tree. Native red mulberry and introduced white mulberry both ripen dark purple to black, so the mulberry page uses the leaf surface to tell them apart.

Flat heads and opposite leaves: elderberry

Huge, flat-topped or drooping heads of tiny dark berries above opposite, compound leaves mean an elderberry. In North America, the NC State profile of American elderberry describes a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree of 5 to 12 feet with 5 to 11 toothed leaflets, creamy-white flower clusters 4 to 10 inches across in June, and purplish-black fruit about 1/4 inch across from August to September. NC State notes that unripe fruits are much more toxic than fully ripe ones.

In Britain and Ireland, elder is widespread in woodland, scrub, wasteland and hedgerows. The Woodland Trust describes a tree up to about 15 m with grey-brown, corky bark, leaves of 5 to 7 toothed leaflets that smell unpleasant when bruised, flowers from late May and small purple-black berries from late summer into autumn. It states that uncooked berries are poisonous. See the elder page for the tree in full.

Tight clusters on the twigs: buckthorn and privet

Common buckthorn is the answer to "black berries and thorns" in the Upper Midwest, the Great Lakes and Canada. The NC State profile describes a small tree up to about 30 feet with toothed, elliptical leaves set opposite or nearly so, with veins that arch toward the tip, and a straight thorn at the end of the twig between two curved buds. Scrape the bark and the inner bark is orange. Only female trees fruit: glossy black fruits 1/4 to 1/2 inch across that mature in fall, rated mildly toxic to people and mammals. Its leaves persist into late fall. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture lists common and glossy buckthorn as restricted noxious weeds, which may not be imported, sold or transported in the state except by permit.

Chinese privet is the Southern version: an evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub or small tree of 6 to 15 feet with opposite, smooth-edged leaves about 1 to 3 inches long. According to NC State, it carries creamy white, strong-smelling flowers in late spring and clusters of black fruit that birds eat and spread; the fruit and leaves have low-severity poison characteristics. NC State calls it an invasive species in North Carolina.

UK and Ireland: elder, blackthorn and buckthorn

Three black or near-black fruits dominate British hedgerows. Elder carries flat heads of tiny purple-black berries above opposite, feather-like leaves. Blackthorn carries single blue-black sloes along dark, spiny twigs; its white flowers open on bare branches in March and April, which the hawthorn vs blackthorn page uses to separate it from hawthorn. Common buckthorn, also called purging buckthorn, is native to Europe, Africa and northern Asia according to NC State and keeps the same thorn at the twig tip.

If the berries are red rather than black, see the tree with red berries guide; if they are still green, the tree with green balls guide.

When a photo helps

A photo that shows a cluster of berries with two or three leaves still attached gives the best lead. Tree Identifier names a tree from one photo, and black tupelo and white mulberry are in the app's Collection. The app does not show a confidence score or a list of look-alikes, so check the result against how the berries hang and how the leaves are arranged. Tree Identifier's Toxicology notes are AI-written and are not a safety verdict: for anything about eating fruit, ask a local expert or call poison control.