Help identifying tree

[psyc1210]

I moved to my house about a year ago, and we've been trying to figure out what kind of tree we have in our backyard. No one that I know has seen anything like it before. My dad who can name lots of trees has no clue...

It's a small sized tree right now at least, about 15 feet tall, and has the horizontal striping on the trunk, like a fruit tree...It produces leaves first, and then little "stalks" of tiny white flowers on the branches.

In the fall it produces very hard, tiny, round, dark red "berries". They are not squishy like berries normally are, so that's why I'll call them "berries" until I find out if there is another name for them.

I am including two pictures of the leaves, and in the pictures you can see the little flower "stalks" with the green buds on them.

[articuno75]

It looks like Birch. I can't remember if it grows the berries though.....

[psyc1210]

I tried searching different Birches, and I can't find any evidence that they shed the little red berries/seeds/whatever as mine does. However, the leaves do look similar. If it is indeed a birch, it will have to be cut down. Since it's growing up against my deck, and will end up blocking everything in my backyard if it grows to a full birch height.

[articuno75]

We had this one tree that was a Birch when I was a little girl. It didn't get no higher than 20 feet tall at full capacity. I can't remember the full name of the tree. I just knew it was a Birch. Looks very similar to those leaves though.

[MLP]

This probably won't be of much help, but I have two (river) birch trees in my front yard, I just went and checked them to compare and the litter berry/flower piece pictured does not look anything like mine, mine have a pinecone shape to them, very dense and green. I don't know if it is true on all birch trees, but on the type I have the bark is paper-like and peals up making it very distinctive.

[Vivienne]

Could it be Dogwood?

[phalaephila]

No, it's not a dogwood; the leaf veins parallel the leaf margin in dogwoods. The first species I thought of when looking at the photos was black cherry or choke cherry. Do you have a county extension office close by? There is usually someone there who can help with identification. Good luck!

jeanne

[psyc1210]

Thanks for all your help guys! I searched the chokecherry tree, and it appears that that is what I have. Thank you so much! That tree apparently only gets about 20 ft tall, so that's not too big.

[articuno75]

Okay, what the heck is a Chokecherry? I've never heard of one. Do you have a pic of the whole tree by chance?

[psyc1210]

Originally Posted by articuno75

Okay, what the heck is a Chokecherry? I've never heard of one. Do you have a pic of the whole tree by chance?

Here is a picture of most of the tree....please ignore the rest of the yard, that was from when we first moved in...

[articuno75]

LoL, I've never heard of one.....Now you've got me on a crazed tree hunt where I'm going to be running all over town looking for the omnious Chokecherry tree, LoL....

[psyc1210]

Originally Posted by articuno75

LoL, I've never heard of one.....Now you've got me on a crazed tree hunt where I'm going to be running all over town looking for the omnious Chokecherry tree, LoL....

It's really unique with the little flower stalks. I really love (d) the tree, til those darn berries started forming and dropping..my dachshund kept trying to eat all of them off the deck.