Terms of flowering honey plants in the USA and Canada

According to observations of naturalists and beekeepers.

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Common name:

Western sandcherry

Scientific name:

Prunus pumila.

Life form:

Shrub.

Flowering time:

6 - 8 days.

Flowering period

in Montana for this plant is: AprilJune.

NECTAR PRODUCTION: 
No data
 
SOURCE FOR HONEY BEES:
Minor

General distribution:

Sandcherry is widely distributed across the northern half of the United States and eastern Canada. It occurs from Quebec and Newfoundland south to Tennessee and Arkansas and west to Utah, Montana, and Saskatchewan.

Map of distribution and habitat in USA

This plant is present in at least 36 states/provinces in this country.

See The Map

Botanical description:

Sandcherry is a native, diffusely-branched shrub that grows from 1.5 to 9.1 feet (0.5-3.0 m) in height. The shrub may be decumbent or prostrate when growing on dunes or other wind-blown sites. The leaves are generally oblanceolate and 0.4 to 0.8 inch (10-20 mm) wide. The perfect flowers occur in umbel-like clusters of 2 to 4. The fruit is a one-seeded drupe 0.4 to 0.6 inch (10-15 mm) in diameter. The seed is a flattened stone 0.3 inches (7-8 mm) in diameter. Sandcherry has a spreading root system that grows primarily in the mineral soil layer >9.8 inches (25 cm) deep with some roots penetrating to a depth of 8 to 12 feet (2.6-4.0 m). Sandcherry is rhizomatous; rhizomes are uniformly abundant in the shallow and deeper soil layers.

There is some evidence that sandcherry may be allelopathic.

Seasonal development:

Sandcherry is a deciduous shrub with typical winter dormancy. Flowering occurs from April to June, and fruits ripen from late July to September. Flowers open with the leaves or when leaves are about half extended. Sandcherry starts producing fruit in the 2nd or 3rd year of growth.


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