| Prunus pumila | |
|---|---|
| Fruit in late July. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Prunus |
| Subgenus: | Prunus[1] |
| Species: | P. pumila |
| Binomial name | |
| Prunus pumila L. |
|
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
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Prunus pumila, commonly called sand cherry,[1] Bessey cherry,[1] dwarf cherry,[1] eastern sand cherry,[1] Great Lakes sand cherry,[1] prostrate dwarf cherry,[1] Rocky Mountain cherry,[1] or western sand cherry,[1] is a species of Prunus native to eastern and central North America, from New Brunswick west to Ontario and Montana, south to North Carolina, and southwest to Arkansas.[1]
It is a deciduous small shrub that grows to 10–40 cm (rarely to 180 cm) tall, forming dense clonal colonies by sprouts from the root system. The leaves are leathery, 4–7 cm long, with a serrated margin. The flowers are produced in small clusters of two to four together, 15–25 mm diameter, with five white petals and 25–30 stamens. The fruit is a small cherry 13–15 mm diameter, ripening dark purple in early summer.[2][3]