IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS 69 
Arizona to western Texas and south into Mexico, with thick, more 
or less persistent leaves, is largely confined to moist mountain canyon 
_bottoms where, if sufficiently abundant and accessible, it furnishes 
_ fair to good winter browse for cattle, sheep, and goats. 
Bitter cherry (?. emarginata), known also as bird cherry, blunt- 
leaf cherry, narrowleaf cherry, pin cherry, and quinine cherry, is 
_ perhaps the commonest and best known of the native western true 
cherries. It occurs both as a shrub and as a small tree, ranging from 
| British Columbia to Montana, Arizona, and California, at elevations 
_varying from sea level to 8,000 feet. It is often common and abun- 
dant and reaches its best development in rich, moist alluvial soils, but 
occurs on dry hillsides also. The species is frequently associated 
_ with snowbrush, hazel, oaks, garrya, manzanita, bracken, wild peas, 
lupines, and vagnera; it grows in the open and in partial shade, but 
is especially characteristic of open browse (brush) types. The for- 
age value of bitter cherry varies from worthless to good, usually 
being of most value toward the end of the season. It is frequently 
claimed to be poisonous, but probably because it has been confused 
with the chokecherries. 
Plumleaf cherry (P. prunifolia, syns. Cerasus mollis, C. prunifolia, 
| P. emarginata mollis, P. emarginata villosa) has a range and forage 
value similar to that of bitter cherry. 
Pin cherry (P. pennsylvanica) of the East, also called bird cherry, 
pigeon cherry, and wild red cherry, extends westward as far as 
British Columbia and Colorado, but apparently has little range sig- 
nificance in the West. In the East it is sometimes involved in cherry 
poisoning (90). Its small, sour fruits are much sought after by 
birds, 
Pacific plum (P. subcordata), also known as Sierra plum and 
Klamath plum, a species ranging from California to central Oregon 
and possibly invading Idaho also (107), and locally prized for its 
fruit, is perhaps the best known of the several native western plums. 
It occurs as a thorny-twigged chaparral shrub on dry slopes, often 
in association with manzanita, wedgeleaf hornbrush, and choke- 
cherry; and as a small tree in rich bottomlands. The altitudinal 
variation is mostly between 2,500 and 4,500 feet. In northern Cali- 
fornia it is frequently replaced by the variety P. subcordata kelloggi. 
Pacific plum is often heavily grazed by sheep and, where overgrazing 
takes place, is not infrequently killed out despite its thorny character 
and usual thicketlike growth. 
PEACHBRUSH (EMPLECTOCLADUS SPP.) 
Peachbrush is known also as wild peach(brush) and wild almond. 
It is considered by some botanists as indistinguishable from 
the peach-almond genus (Amygdalus). Some other botanists go a 
step further and merge both Amygdalus and Emplectocladus in the 
plum-cherry genus (Prunus). It is, of course, a moot question 
whether the three are distinct generically. 
About five species of peachbrush occur in the West. They are low, 
diffusely branched shrubs, with small and mostly rather narrow 
leaves; the twigs are frequently spiny to thorny. These bushes grow 
on dry, warm foothills of the Southwest and are local in distribution ; 
their foliage is rather scant but moderately palatable, and their low 
