Tas. 8156. 
PRUNUS BgsseEyI. 
North-Western United States. 
Rosaceak. Tribe PRUNEAE. 
Prunus, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. i. p. 609. 
Prunus (§ Cerasus) Besseyi, Bailey in Bull. Cornell Agric. Exp. Stat. No. 70, 
p- 261 (1894); Britton & Brown, Illustr. Flora N. United States, vol. ii. 
p. 251, fig. 2019; De Wild., Icon. Hort. Then. vol. iii. t. 112; Spath. in 
Gartenfl. 1908, p. 551; P. pumilae et P: cuneatae arcte affinis, ab illa 
tamen habitu majus compressa foliisque basin versus latioribus, ab hac 
foliorum laminis firmulis petiolisque brevioribus et fructu majore satis 
recedit. 
Frutex nanus, compactus, interdum prostratus, *6-1°2 m. altus, omnino glaber. 
Folia decidua, elliptica, elliptico-lanceolata vel parum subobovata, 2°5-6 
cm. longa, 1°5-1'75 cm. lata, margine basi cuneata nonnunquam integra 
excepta minute serrata, supra viridia, subtus pallidiora, utrinque hebetia, 
distincte petiolata ; stipulae 3-4 mm. longae, serratae, lores in fasciculos © 
2-4-floros ad ramulorum anni superioris nodos congesti, singuli 1°5 em. 
lati, pedicellis floriferis 1:25 em. longis. Calyx campanulatus, 5-lobus; 
lobis ovatis glanduloso-serratis demum reflexis. Petala ovato-oblonga, 
alba, 8 mm. longa, 5 mm. lata. Drupae late ovatae, 1°5 cm. longae, 1 cm. 
diam.. primo pruinosae, purpurascentes, demum nigricantes; pedicelli 
fructigeri plus minusve refracti, 2 cm. longi.—P. pumila, var. Besseyi, 
Waugh ; Bailey in Cyclop. of Amer. Hort. p. 1451 (1901).—D. Pray. 
There are three dwarf Cherries of North America that 
constitute a well-marked and homogeneous group. They 
are Prunus pumila, L., P. cuneata, Raf., and P. Besseyi, 
Bailey. All three are known as “ Sand-Cherries”’ in the 
United States, and in a strictly botanical sense can only 
be regarded as varieties of one species. Professor Bailey 
himself, in the Cyclopedia of American Horticulture, 
p- 1451 (1901), has adopted this view. In geographical 
distribution, P. Besseyi is the most western of the group, 
being found in the States of Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, 
Utah, &c. It is a characteristic undershrub of the 
Nebraska sand-hills. P. pumila differs in its taller, less 
compact habit, and in its oblanceolate or spathulate leaves ; 
and P. cuneata is distinguished by its smaller fruits, its 
longer petioles, and thinner leaves. 
In the hot, dry plains east of the Rocky Mountains, 
P. Bessey promises to become a valuable fruit-bearing 
shrub. It had already been cultivated to some extent in 
SeptemBer Ist, 1907. 
