The Black Republican cherry is a

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

of cherry. While it is a hybrid, its parentage is not known; it is possibly a cross of the

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and

Black Tartarian Black Tartarian (originally ''Ronald's Large Black Heart'') is an heirloom cultivar of cherry. It was brought from Circassia to England in the 1700s by a man named Hugh Ronalds, and from England it was brought to the United States The Un ...

cultivars, but has also been described as a seedling of the Eagle variety. One of the parents of the

Bing cherry Bing is a cultivar of the wild or sweet cherry (''Prunus avium'') that originated in the Pacific Northwest, in Milwaukie, Oregon, United States. The Bing remains a major cultivar in Oregon,Zebian, Maureen. (8/11/2011) "'Bing' Those Cherries On!" ...

, the Black Republican was first grown in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

about 1860 by the horticulturist

Seth Lewelling Seth Lewelling (1820 – February 21, 1896), alternatively spelled Luelling (including by Lewelling himself), was a pioneer orchardist from the U.S. state of Oregon, best known for developing the Bing cherry. Born in 1820 in North Carolina as ...

, who gave it its name as a reflection of his

Abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

beliefs. The fruit of the Black Republican is small, firm, and deep purple in color, with an intense taste well-suited to preserving. It was a very important commercial cherry in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

, but already by the early 20th century was being surpassed by the Bing cherry."Biennial Report of the Board of Horticulture of the State of Oregon, 1905"
pg. 106 Today it is a rare variety, with about 200 acres in production, and is listed as an endangered heritage food in the

Ark of Taste The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...

References

Cherry cultivars Agriculture in Oregon {{fruit-stub