Prairie Willow and Sand Cherry

Prairie Willow (Salix humilis) photo by Susan 

Slapnick

Sand Cherry (Prunus pumila) photo

by Kathie Brock

“Do you think that each differs to the other, and is identical to itself?”  Socrates

“There cannot be several things exactly the same, 

for in that case there would not be several things,

but the same thing itself.”  Nicholas of Cusa

Near the entrance to Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie is a steep rise up to the top of the north section.  At the top, to the left, is a “shruby” area with a surprising diversity of native forbs and woodies.  The low-growing Prairie Willow is relatively abundant, even after some years of gentle taming.  And among all are similar-looking small, spreading shrubs, some with large dark fruits that look just like cherries.  Indeed, that is what Kathie Brock re-discovered there recently and even (or of course) ventured a taste.  Yes, thankfully, Sand Cherries are edible and delicious.  Just avoid the pits.

The similarities between Prairie Willows and Sand Cherries are most obvious:  both are shrubs, sprawling and low to the ground in frequently-burned prairies, both have alternate simple leaves about two plus inches long and one inch wide, and both like soil that is sandy and somewhat dry, perhaps acidic.  To see the differences requires looking closer.  The Prairie Willow leaves are medium green above, and below are lighter with fine hairs.  Sand Cherry leaves are dark green above and smooth below.  The stems of the Willow tend to be green to yellow-green, while the young Sand Cherry stems are reddish to brown.

I won’t describe these two any further.  Minnesotawildflowers.info is a good source, and Tom talked about each in his blog (google:  “PVC and Tom’s Blog” and look under Archives), specifically December 9, 2012 for Prairie Willow and May 9, 2014 for Sand Cherry.

The point of all this?  If you see a willow, look again, more closely (more willowfully?).