Julia, this looks like Black Cherry (also known as rum cherry, whiskey cherry or mountain black cherry). If so those blooms will turn into berries which are eaten by birds and spread everywhere! It can be highly invasive. I have cut all down around my property and still find it coming up from adjacent areas. Of course it could be something else. But it looks highly suspiciously like it!!

I agree; Mountain Black Cherry.

kay

Thanks Kate. Just googled the name and the pics are a match. I'm sure those berries will be a mess but when reading up on this species it appears you can eat the fruit, the wood is sought after for furniture making but other parts are poisonous. I found out the other day we have Elm trees which are a pain as their "green flowers" clog up the gutters.

Kay: Thanks.

Julia

My sympathies about possible invasive or badly behaved plants/trees. However, IF your elm trees are truly American elms AND healthy, please don't destroy them!! They are not in abundance any longer. (Think of all the Elm Streets in towns all over this country that are barren of elms now.) Such a magnificent, stately tree.

I still want to cry when I think of the 200-year old healthy elm that stood proudly behind my parents' house until the buyer of the property destroyed it and built a new (ugly) house after bulldozing my 200-year old childhood home this past year. It was often festooned with oriole nests that I remember swaying in the breeze. Le sigh.

I agree with roxanna7 , Elms are dying from Dutch Elm disease all over and the ones that survive are being studied by the University of Guelph here in Ontario Canada . They are collecting seed in hopes of restoring disease resistant elms for future planting. www.uoguelph.ca/news/2012/03/u_of_g_scientis_8.html Please dont cut down ANY elms.

These blooms look a lot like Chokecherry . Does Chokecherry grow in WV?

Roxanna: There are different types of Elms. These are the "green flowers" which this tree produces which has seeds.I'm not sure which variety it is. However, we don't intend to cut down any trees that are alive. In fact, I had to plant a couple of trees as the builder removed a majority when he built this house. Not our idea just how the house was when we purchased it.

Signet: I'm not sure if the leaves or how the blooms appear match what we have here but it is very close to your suggest of chokecherry. I'll see if I can get a better pic of the blooms I have several varieties of bushes/trees that I have no idea what they are as they are in what we call the hedgerow between our property and neighbors.

Thanks

Julia