One of these is in bloom by the pond at Centennial as well. Red ripening to black fruit. The fruit is edible — black cherries! Lifespan can be 250 years. The bark was used for cough medicine and sedatives. The timber is red and used for furniture making. “A favorite drink in pioneer Appalachia was cherry bounce, in which rum or brandy was flavored with black cherry fruits.” Native to eastern North America. Family Rosaceae
Black Cherry, Mountain Black Cherry, Rum Cherry, Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
I remember seeing this and wondering if it was somehow related to lilacs. The leaves look very much like lilac leaves and the flowers are arranged like lilacs on the branch. Also I noticed that the trunk, although there was one main large trunk, had many smaller trunks coming out of the ground, sort of in the manner of a lilac bush. Could it be related?
This tree is in Sunderland, so it’s not the one you’re thinking of. However, yesterday I was following your advice (buying plants at Costco), and they did have a white lilac with tiny blossoms like that tree we saw at Whiteside’s… so maybe that WAS a gargantuan example of a lilac variety. This Massachusetts tree has more of a bottlebrush flower…
How about Japanese Lilac Tree, Syringa reticulata. My book shows the flowers looking very much like your photo. It says: From Japan. To 30 ft tall, 20 ft wide; can be grown as large shrub or easily trained as a single-stemmed tree. “Ivory Silk” is a compact tree to 20 ft tall with cream-colored flowers borne in profusion even at a young age.
Oh, and yes, I’m talking about the tree at Whitesides.