Bing cherry
Bing is a highly popular cultivar of the wild or sweet cherry, that originated in the Pacific Northwest. The Bing is the most popular sweet cherry in the United States, making up 50% of Washington's nation-leading cherry crop. It also remains a major cultivar in its native Oregon, as well as California, Wisconsin and British Columbia.
History
The cultivar was derived from an open pollination cross between maternal parent Black Republican and paternal parent Royal Ann in 1875 in Milwaukie, Oregon, by horticulturist Seth Lewelling and his Manchurian History of [Chinese Americans in the Pacific Northwest|Chinese-American] foreman Ah Bing, for whom the cultivar is named.Ah Bing was reportedly born in China and immigrated to the U.S. in about 1855. He worked as a foreman in the Lewelling family fruit orchards in Milwaukie for about 35 years, supervising other workers and caring for trees. He went back to China in 1889 for a visit. Due to the restrictions of the Chinese [Exclusion Act of 1882] he never returned to the United States. Sources disagree as to whether Ah Bing was responsible for developing the cultivar, or whether it was developed by Lewelling and named in Bing's honor due to his long service as orchard foreman.