American Cherry

Delicate play of colours
Cherry wood is strong, hard and elastic – just perfect for intricate cabinet work and musical instruments. With its smooth texture, decorative grain and beautiful colour play from golden brown to dark red, a cherry floor brings a warm atmosphere to every room. American cherry wood is a bit darker in colour than the European types.

Cherry blossoms: Beautiful and volatile
In Europe the cherry tree symbolises purity and innocence. The pink to white blossoms have left the strongest impression on the Japanese. Hanami, the Japanese traditional custom of cherry blossom viewing, has been celebrated every year for a thousand years. As the blossoms only last about ten days, the Japanese people throughout the country gather in great numbers under the flowering trees where they celebrate flower-viewing parties with their family, friends and colleagues. The parties often go on until late in the night.

Sumptuous delights
The Romans brought the first cherry trees from Turkey to Europe. Lucullus, who was famous for his lavish feasts, detected them there while passing the town Giresun on a military campaign in Asia Minor. From there the cherry conquered almost the whole world. The roots of its origin still show in many languages today: The English cherry, the Spanish cereza and the French cerise derive from 'kerasos', the Greek word for Giresun.

Interesting facts
Surprise, surprise. Who would have thought that cherry trees actually belong to the rose family? With over 200 species, cherries grow in almost all temperate zones today. They supply sweet fruit and much sought-after wood. In former times, people would sew the cherry pits into linen bags and warm them over the oven for use as heating pads. The resin produced from wounds in the trunk was diluted in wine and believed to be an excellent cough syrup.