Malus

Eleagnus umbellata

Man, that calyx basin sure had me fooled. 😞

I looked at at pictures of Eleagnus umbellata and they look more like currants, more round and red than my fruits.

Malus has alternate leaves with serrated leaf margins.

I can't tell if they are that by your picture.

Alternate leaves but not serrated.

It could very well be an Eleagnus of some species but the fruit looks too large for E. umbellata. That is seldom as large as a half inch.

Would a photo of the insides of a fruit help?

Yes. Cut across a Malus will have five seed chambers in a star formation. A prunus will have a pit. Eleagnus will have a long ridged seed tapering at each end.

I'm pretty sure it's not Elaeagnus - the foliage isn't right, plus we're dealing with "tall trees".

I'd lean toward cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera), but better pics are needed (or a cut open fruit).

It could be serviceberry, Amalanchier intermedia hybrid. Just a thought.

No calyx on cherry plum fruit.

Photos of the bark, fruit (cut across and lengthwise) and leaf.

I believe that last leave in the photo *is* serrated, correct?

The seed is a star formation of 5.

Not sure about that bark though, it appears a little too smooth but I'm no expert.

Agree with BillMN on the bark, it looks very cherry-like. Other than the bark, I'd probably update my guess to Malus prunifolia.

It looks a lot like the wild cherry tree we had on our lot line. It has been dying and this year finally gave up. It had fruit that looked just like the fruit in your photo. About twenty years ago the fruit fermented on the tree. We had dozens and dozens of robins hanging from the tree limbs. They got drunk and were falling all over the yard and flying into stuff. I guess the weather never repeated whatever caused that, because it has not happened again.

Wouldn't a cherry have a central pit?

I never sliced one in half, lol. They were too high up and they were eaten by all the wildlife. If you google wild cherry, there are several other trees similar, but the berries are bad for humans.

Yes, the 5 seed sections would rule cherry tree out.

I think arbordave has it.

Compare your leaves and fruit, debodun, to Malus prunifolia.

Right. The seed formation says Malus. I was wrong about Eleagnus.

Yep, I'll accept Malus prunifolia as what it is. Thanks for all the input, folks. I'm not much of an outdoor gardener, but I raise beautiful houseplants.

I've enjoyed following this mystery. Now I wonder: is there a Prunus malifolia?

It is not Prunus malifolia.

Here's a picture of the fruits of Malus × robusta 'Red Sentinel', which is a hybrid between Malus baccata (the Siberian crab apple) and Malus prunifolia (the plum-leaved crab apple)

Malus-×-robusta-‘Red-Sentinel.jpg (1029×687)

If the tree sprouted from seed, it could possibly have reverted to its "Malus prunifolia" leaf form.

"Prunus malifolia" wasn't an id. It was a joke.