A cherry is both a tree and fruit, belonging to the same family as almonds, peaches, plums, and apricots. There are two types of cherries in Elztal: sweet and sour. All famous dishes like Black Forest Cateau, or Black Forest Ice cream cup are made from the sour species. Most people are not aware the sweet and sour cherries are completely different species. Both species originate in Europe. As well as the fruit, cherries also have attractive flowers, and they are commonly planted for their flower display in spring. Some flowering cherry trees known as ornamental cherries do not bear fruit. They are grown purely for their blossom and decorative value. The Japanese sakura, in particular, is a national symbol celebrated in the yearly Hanami festival.

     Cherries have a very short fruiting season. In Elztal they are usually at their peak in June although there are "early" and "late" bearing species. Annual world production of cherries is about 3 million tonnes, mostly sweet species.

     Most famous sour cherry in Elztal is the Schatenmorelle (Morello cherry), a fruit similar to the sweet cherry, but with a fruit body that is more sour, and widely used for culinary purposes. The tree is slightly smaller than the sweet cherry, with fruits more darkly coloured. Sour cherries were already known to the Greeks in 300 BC. They were also extremely popular with the Romans, who introduced them into Elztal.

     The art of their cultivation was lost during the Dark Ages, although they were re-introduced in the 16th century. Morello cherries require similar cultivation conditions to pears, that is, they prefer a rich, well drained moist soil. Trees will do badly if waterlogged, but have greater tolerance of poor drainage than sweet varieties. As with sweet cherries, Morellos are traditionally cultivated by budding onto strong growing rootstocks.