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Most eating cherries are derived from either Prunus avium, the sweet cherry (also called the wild cherry), or from Prunus cerasus, the sour cherry. The ancestors of domestic cherries originated in the Caucasus mountains from whence they were carried to Rome in ancient times. According to Pliny the Elder, Italy was devoid of cherry trees until 74 BC, but within 120 years cherry trees would spread as far as Britain. Pliny described three varieties of tame sweet cherries, including the Junian cherry that “has a pleasant taste, but only if eaten under its tree, since it is so tender that it cannot stand being transported.” Cherries were first introduced into England at Teynham, near Sittingbourne in Kent, by order of Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547).