Bing cherries (Prunus avium bing) are the supreme eating cherries, heart-shaped, dark red, almost black, inside and out. Their flesh is sweet, firm and juicy, setting the standard by which all other eating cherries are judged. Bing cherry trees like temperate climates and full sun. Production is at its peak from the end of June through July to the beginning of August.
The Bing cherry was developed in the Willamette Valley, in Oregon, in 1875 in the orchards of pioneer nurseryman Henderson Lewelling from a Black Republican cherry. The Bing was named for Lewelling's Chinese assistant, Ah Bing, though it is believed by many Chinese-Americans that full credit should go to Ah Bing himself, and that his efforts in Lewelling's orchards have been glossed over.
Sources: Salem History Project, http://salemhistory.net/
National Arbor Day Foundation, http://www.arborday.org/