SAND CHERRIES ARE BLOOMING

SAND CHERRY FLOWER SPIKE...

...SAND CHERRY SHRUB AT THE BEACH...

...SAND CHERRIES (Google photo)

Tuesday, 7:00 AM.  50 degrees F at the ferry dock, 46 on the back porch.  Wind variable, with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is mostly cloudy and overcast, the humidity 74%.  The barometer stands at 29.94" and has begun to drop some.  The week ahead looks unsettled.

   Sand cherry, Prunus pumila, in the Cherry Subgenera of the greater Rose Family, grows in considerable numbers on the beach, where these photos were taken yesterday afternoon when I took Buddy for a much needed run. The species name is from the Latin, and translates as "dwarf."
    Sand cherry is native to dunes along the Great Lakes and in pine barrens and similar areas inland.  There is also a western subspecies that is native to sandy prairies further south and west.

   The short, straggly shrubs are as unlike a cherry tree as they could be, as they have no trunk whatsoever but grow suckering up in the beach sand,  not much taller than the dune grass.  They are tenacious in  stabilizing the beach dunes, and are an important part of the beach flora.  They are more floriferous this year than I have seen them in the past, and I will try to get back at the right time to pick some of the fruit.  The cherries are decent sized and edible, but I have never tasted the black cherries, as the birds and bears usually get to them before I do.