Cornelian cherry

A large deciduous shrub that produces lots of shiny red berries, this fruit has long been used as a food crop as well as been loved by birds.
Cornus mas has soft foliage with small, bright yellow flowers in early Spring that are followed by fleshy, bright red, cherry-like fruits in late Summer. Attractive bark on older plants.
The unripe fruit is bitter but when fully ripe it has a plum-like flavour and can be eaten from the tree. It is rather low in pectin and so needs to be used with other fruit when making jam. A good, productive tree for forest gardening.
It grows on almost any soil once it is not too compacted, an interesting fact is that the wood of Cornus mas is extremely dense- meaning that, unlike most wood, it sinks in water.

Site: Tolerates inland exposure
Soil: Any well drained soil
Position: Full sun, partial shade
Season of Interest: Spring flowers, Autumn colour, edible berries
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Height: 16ft (5m) Spread: 16ft (5m)