Really dark, almost black stool. is this normal? ( i ate a lot of cherries before this). it has been normal color ever since.should i have it checked?

Define melena: Melena, by definition, is passage of dark stools stained with denatured blood. As we established in prior healthtap answers, all dark stool is not melena. Your doctor, or even an over-the-counter test that you can purchase, can check to see if your dark stool contains blood. Needed is for you to provide a sample of the dark stool. False positive results can occur based on diet & stool additives.