Sand cherry facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sand cherry
Fruit in late July.
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Synonyms
List Prunus besseyi L.H.Bailey Prunus cerasa Crantz Prunus cuneata Raf. Prunus floribunda K. Koch Prunus depressa hort Pursh Prunus prunella Daniels Prunus rosebudii Reagan Prunus susquehanae hort. ex Willd. Cerasus pumila (L.) Michx. Microcerasus pumila (L.) Eremin & Yushev Cerasus besseyi (L.H.Bailey) Smyth Cerasus depressa (Pursh) Ser.

Prunus pumila, commonly called sand cherry, is a North American species of cherry in the rose family. It is widespread in eastern and central Canada from New Brunswick west to Saskatchewan and the northern United States from Maine to Montana, south as far as Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, and Virginia, with a few isolated populations in Tennessee and Utah. It grows in sandy locations such as shorelines and dunes.

Prunus pumila is a deciduous shrub that grows to 2-6 feet tall depending on the variety. It forms dense clonal colonies by sprouts from the root system. The leaves are leathery, 4–7 centimetres (1.6–2.8 in) long, with a serrated margin. The flowers are 15–25 millimetres (0.59–0.98 in) in diameter with five white petals and 25–30 stamens. They are produced in small clusters of two to four. The fruit is a small cherry 13–15 millimetres (0.51–0.59 in) diameter, ripening dark purple in early summer.

Varieties

• Prunus pumila var. besseyi (Bailey) Gleason, western sand cherry (also called Rocky Mountain cherry) - Saskatchewan, Manitoba, western Ontario, south to Colorado and Kansas
• Prunus pumila var. depressa (Pursh) Gleason, eastern sand cherry - Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick south to Pennsylvania
• Prunus pumila var. pumila, Great Lakes sand cherry - shores of Great Lakes
• Prunus pumila var. susquehanae (hort. ex Willd.) Jaeger, Susquehana sand cherry - from Manitoba east to Maine, south to Tennessee
• Prunus × cistena (purple leaf sand cherry) is a hybrid of Prunus cerasifera (Cherry Plum) and Prunus pumila. It was developed by Niels Ebbesen Hansen of South Dakota State University in 1910. They grow to be about 7 feet tall and can live for up to 20 years.

Gallery

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  P. pumila var. pumila just after flowering, in early June.

Images for kids

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  P. pumila var. depressa in bloom

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  Mature flowers

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  Cherries (mostly unripe) growing on branches

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  Close-up of leaves

See also

In Spanish: Prunus pumila para niños