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SAND CHERRY 



WESTERN SAND CHERRY 



dark, dull reddish-black with a tinge of gray ; branch- 

 lets slender, twiggy, dull grayish-brown, glabrous, with 

 small, raised lenticels. Leaves hanging late in the 

 season, small, 1% inches long, 1 inch wide, flat, pointed, 

 narrowly oblanceolate, thin ; lower surface thinly 

 pubescent on the midrib and veins ; midrib small, 

 straight ; veins very minute ; margin serrate, with teeth 

 tipped with very small glands ; petiole short, 1 %, inches 

 in length, glandless. Flowers small, in 2- to 5-flowered 

 umbels, white, appearing with the leaves ; pedicels slen- 

 der, % inch in length. Fruit round, pendulous, purple- 

 black, without bloom, % inch in diameter ; flesh thin, 

 sour and astringent ; season late ; stone turgid, round. 



The sand cherry, or dwarf cherry, of eastern 

 America, is found on sandy and rocky inland 

 shores from Maine to the District of Columbia 

 and northwestward to the Lake of the Woods 

 in Canada. It grows in light sands, a fact 

 which suggests its use in arid soils and espe- 

 cially on poor soils in cold climates. As yet 

 there seem to be no named varieties of this 

 cherry, since its nearly related species, P. 

 Besseyi, offers greater opportunities to the 

 fruit-grower. Both plants and fruits are so 

 variable, the size, color, and quality of the 

 crop on some plants being quite attractive, 

 that it is certain that an opportunity is being 

 overlooked to domesticate a worthy native 

 plant. The species ought to have value, too, 

 as a stock on which to work other cherries 

 for sandy soils, dwarf trees, and exacting 

 climates. 



Western Sand Cherry 



6. Prunus Besseyt, Bailey. Rocky Mountain Cherry. 

 Plant a small spreading shrub, 1-4 feet in height ; 

 trunk slender, smooth ; branches slender, smooth, very 

 dark brownish-black, with numerous lenticels ; branchlets 

 slender, short, dull grayish-brown, smooth, glabrous, 

 with small, raised lenticels. Leaves hanging late, 

 numerous, small, 2% inches long, 1 inch wide, thick, 

 stiff ; apex with a short taper-point, broadly lanceolate ; 

 upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth ; lower surface 

 light green ; midrib distinct, glabrous ; margin serrate, 

 with teeth tipped with indistinct glands ; petiole thick, 

 % inch in length, glandless or with from one to two 

 small, globose glands ; stipules very prominent, almost 

 leaf-like. Flowers appearing with the leaves in sessile 

 umbels, small, less than % inch across, white. Fruit 

 % inch in diameter, globose, oblong-pointed, yellow, 

 mottled or purple-black ; variable in flavor but always 

 more or less astringent ; stone large, globose, flattened. 



This species is found on the prairies from 

 Manitoba and Minnesota to southern Kansas 



and westward into Montana. In its natural 

 range, it undoubtedly runs into that of P. 

 pumila to the east, and some botanists believe 

 that the two species grade into each other; 

 but the two are as distinct as are many other 

 of the more or less indefinite species of this 

 genus. Although P. Besseyi has received at- 

 tention from horticulturists for less than a 

 quarter-century, it has aroused much interest, 

 best indicated by the fact that now a con- 

 siderable number of varieties of the species 

 are under cultivation; and there are more than 

 a score of hybrids disseminated in which it is 

 one of the parents. The flesh is tender and 

 juicy, and, while it is generally astringent, 

 plants bearing aromatic and very palatable 

 cherries are often found growing wild, and 

 some of the domesticated plants bear very 

 well-flavored fruits. The sand cherry is re- 

 markably productive, and has remarkable ca- 

 pacity to withstand the vicissitudes of the 

 exacting climate in which it grows. Fruits 

 from different plants vary in size, color, and 

 flavor, a fact which suggests that, under cul- 

 tivation, amelioration will proceed rapidly. 

 The plants of this species root freely from 

 layers or root-cuttings, and are, therefore, 

 easily propagated and multiplied. 



But it is in its hybrids that this cherry has 

 proved most valuable in horticulture. There 

 are now hybrids under cultivation between 

 this species and the sand plum (P. angustijolia 

 Watsonii), the Hortulana plum (P. hortulana), 

 the Simonii plum (P. Simonii), the Japanese 

 plum (P. salicina), the American plum (P. 

 americana), the cherry plum (P. cerasifera), 

 the sweet cherry (P. avium), the peach (P. 

 Persica), the apricots (P. Armeniaca and P. 

 Mume), and the common plum (P. domestica) . 

 This species seems to be the "go-between" of 

 the many varied types of the genus Prunus. 



The sand cherry makes a good stock for 

 peaches, apricots, Japanese and native plums; 

 and, while it does not so readily consort with 

 the true cherries, yet it can be used as a stock 

 for them. On the other hand, larger fruits of 

 the sand cherry can be grown when it is 

 budded on stocks of the American plum, P. 

 americana. 



