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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE ROSE FAMILY | |||||||||
| The rose family is one of the most
well known plant families in Saskatchewan. Plants in this family are trees,
shrubs or herbs. The shrubs or trees are commonly armed with prickles or
spines. The leaves can be simple or compound and frequently have a saw-toothed
margin. A pair of stipules is usually present at the base of the stem leaves.
The flowers are in various types of clusters or can be solitary. The flowers
are frequently brightly coloured and showy. The flowers have five sepals
and petals, five to many stamens in whorls and one to many fused or distinct
carpels. The fruits can be drupes (ex. cherry), pomes (ex. apple), or aggregates
of achenes (ex. strawberry), pods, or drupelets (ex. raspberry). Many fruit crops are members of the rose family. Cherry, apple, pear, raspberry and strawberry are examples. Roses are used for medicine and for their essential oils. Many roses are grown as ornamentals in gardens. |
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| WESTERN SANDCHERRY | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Prunus pumila var. besseyi | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Western sandcherry is a low shrub less than 40 cm tall. The bark on the main stem is almost black. The leaves are simple and are wider at the top than at the bottom. The leaves are green above and bluish-green below. The stipules are commonly glandular and hairless. The flowers are white with five sepals and petals. The fruit is dark brown or purplish and is fleshy. The fruit contains one oval seed. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Western sandcherry grows in sandy pine woods or prairie banks. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southeastern Saskatchewan in the Aspen Parkland and Mid-Boreal Lowland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Western sandcherry is endangered because of extreme rarity in Saskatchewan. It is only somewhat regionally restricted and is usually locally numerous within limited areas. Immediate or probable threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WESTERN SANDCHERRY | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves dark green above and bluish below? * Are the flowers in bundles of two to five? * Are the fruits fleshy, one-seeded and dark brown to purple in colour? * Did you find it in southeastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found western sandcherry! |
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