{"id":"prunus-besseyi","license":"CC-BY-4.0","data":{"scientificName":"Prunus besseyi","commonNames":["Western sandcherry"],"taxonRank":"species","acceptedName":"Prunus pumila","family":"Rosaceae","synonyms":["Prunus besseyi"],"ids":{"usdaSymbol":"PRPU3","gbifKey":7514878,"itisTsn":504625,"wikidataQid":"Q1249454","inatTaxonId":58742},"usdaZoneMin":"3a","usdaZoneMax":"7b","zoneSource":"pnw590","states":["AR","CO","IA","ID","IL","IN","KS","KY","MA","MD","ME","MI","MN","MT","ND","NE","NH","NJ","NY","OH","OR","PA","SD","TN","UT","VT","WA","WI","WY"],"hardinessAssertions":[{"minimum":"3","maximum":"6","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"msu-e2948","sourceRecordId":"shrub:Prunus besseyi","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Table 1, shrub row","sourceVersion":"New, January 2007","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z"},{"minimum":"3","maximum":"6","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"osu-em-9103","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Sand Cherry profile (PDF page 152)","sourceVersion":"EM 9103, February 2015","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z"},{"minimum":"3","maximum":"7","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"pnw-590","sourceRecordId":"shrubs:Western sandcherry","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Western sandcherry profile, USDA hardiness zones field","sourceVersion":"2023-10","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z"},{"minimum":"3b","interpretation":"minimum-threshold","precision":"half-zone","zoneMapping":"derived-containing-band","sourceMeasurement":{"kind":"minimum-temperature","value":-33,"unit":"degrees-fahrenheit"},"applicability":"applicable","source":"usda-plants-characteristics","sourceRecordId":"PRPU3","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"source-identifier","sourcePlacement":"PlantCharacteristics record 90634, Temperature, Minimum (°F)","sourceVersion":"PLANTS Help Document 2022; characteristics cache retrieved 2026-08-23","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z"}],"plantForm":"shrub","matureHeightFt":6,"waterNeed":"low","photo":{"file":"/images/plants/prunus-besseyi.jpg","sourceUrl":"https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/371970496","observationUrl":"https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/210291190","license":"cc0","attribution":"no rights reserved","fetchedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},"evidence":[{"source":"pnw-590","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"listed fire-resistant","edition":"2023","url":"https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pub/pnw-590-fire-resistant-plants-home-landscapes","documentDate":"2023-10-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"idaho-firewise-master-db","verdict":"mixed","verdictRaw":"fire-resistance score 6 of 10","score":{"value":6,"scale":"idaho-0-10"},"sourcePlacement":{"value":"plantable at 50' from home","scheme":"idaho-distance"},"url":"https://idahofirewise.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/FireXResistanceXofXPlantsXMasterXDatabase.pdf","accessedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"firesmart-bc","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"FireSmart-approved fire-resistant plant","claims":"Flagged by FireSmart BC as needing more research.","original":"pnw-590","url":"https://firesmartbc.ca/landscaping-hub/fire-resistant-plants/","accessedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"usu-firewise-plants-utah","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"listed as a firewise plant for Utah landscapes","claims":"Source says the plant can be firewise when properly used and maintained. Source table name: Prunus besseyi (P. pumila var. besseyi).","edition":"2005 revision","url":"https://extension.usu.edu/smallfarms/files/FirewisePlantsUtLandscapes.pdf","documentDate":"2005-02-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"msu-e2948","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"considered wildfire-resistant and are recommended for Michigan’s climate","claims":"Table 1 row: Prunus besseyi (Sand cherry).","edition":"New, January 2007","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20070714035839/http://www.firewise.org/usa/files/mi_wildfire_resistant.pdf","documentDate":"2007-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"osu-em-9103","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"fire-resistant plants that thrive in Willamette Valley growing conditions","claims":"The shrubs & woody vines profile lists Prunus besseyi as Sand Cherry. The profile prints USDA Hardiness Zone: 3–6.","plantPart":"whole-plant","sourcePlacement":{"value":"Sand Cherry profile (PDF page 152)","scheme":"osu-em-9103-profile"},"edition":"EM 9103, February 2015","url":"https://www.canbyfire.org/files/074d2a9e3/Fire-Resistant-Plants_Willamette-Valley.pdf","documentDate":"2015-02-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"osu-plant-profile-galleries","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"Choose the right shrubs for your fire-resistant landscape","claims":"The Western sandcherry profile prints Prunus besseyi. The gallery points to PNW 590 for complete details.","plantPart":"whole-plant","sourcePlacement":{"value":"Western sandcherry — Prunus besseyi","scheme":"osu-2023-shrubs-gallery"},"edition":"November 2023 educational gallery","url":"https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gallery/fire-resistant-plant-profiles-shrubs","documentDate":"2023-11-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"fremont-county-wy-firewise-list","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"Fremont County Firewise Plant List — Prunus besseyi — Western Sand Cherry","claims":"Listed in the source's Shrubs section; the page describes its listed Firewise plants as generally low-growing, low-debris, and relatively moist.","plantPart":"whole-plant","edition":"web page (server last-modified 2011-02-25)","url":"http://www.fremontcountyfirewise.com/WyomingFirewisePlantList.htm","documentDate":"2011-02-25T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"firewise-black-hills-sd-plantlist","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"Shrubs: Western sand cherry — Prunus bessevi","claims":"The introduction describes all table entries as fire-resistive plants that can be used in landscaping. Printed-name correction used for exact matching: Prunus bessevi -> Prunus besseyi.","plantPart":"whole-plant","sourcePlacement":{"value":"Shrubs","scheme":"black-hills-plant-form-table"},"edition":"2004 scan / 2007 archive","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20070714035957/http://www.firewise.org/usa/files/south_dakota.pdf","documentDate":"2004-11-30T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"}],"flammabilityClass":"fire-resistant","ratingReason":"consensus","recommendation":"on-list","author":"grayson-graham","reviewStatus":"draft","lastVerified":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z","reviewNotes":"Photo auto-selected (top-voted iNat); human review pending."},"localAssessmentInputs":{"stateDistribution":["AR","CO","IA","ID","IL","IN","KS","KY","MA","MD","ME","MI","MN","MT","ND","NE","NH","NJ","NY","OH","OR","PA","SD","TN","UT","VT","WA","WI","WY"],"nativeStates":[],"rangeAssertions":[{"relation":"documented-occurrence","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["AR","CO","IA","ID","IL","IN","KS","KY","MA","MD","ME","MI","MN","MT","ND","NE","NH","NJ","NY","OH","OR","PA","SD","TN","UT","VT","WA","WI","WY"]},"provenance":"legacy-field"}],"usdaZoneMin":"3a","usdaZoneMax":"7b","hardinessAssertions":[{"minimum":"3","maximum":"6","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"msu-e2948","sourceRecordId":"shrub:Prunus besseyi","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Table 1, shrub row","sourceVersion":"New, January 2007","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"minimum":"3","maximum":"6","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"osu-em-9103","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Sand Cherry profile (PDF page 152)","sourceVersion":"EM 9103, February 2015","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"minimum":"3","maximum":"7","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"pnw-590","sourceRecordId":"shrubs:Western sandcherry","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Western sandcherry profile, USDA hardiness zones field","sourceVersion":"2023-10","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"minimum":"3b","interpretation":"minimum-threshold","precision":"half-zone","zoneMapping":"derived-containing-band","sourceMeasurement":{"kind":"minimum-temperature","value":-33,"unit":"degrees-fahrenheit"},"applicability":"applicable","source":"usda-plants-characteristics","sourceRecordId":"PRPU3","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"source-identifier","sourcePlacement":"PlantCharacteristics record 90634, Temperature, Minimum (°F)","sourceVersion":"PLANTS Help Document 2022; characteristics cache retrieved 2026-08-23","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"}],"hardinessSelection":{"status":"overlapping","assertions":[{"minimum":"3","maximum":"6","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"msu-e2948","sourceRecordId":"shrub:Prunus besseyi","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Table 1, shrub row","sourceVersion":"New, January 2007","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"minimum":"3","maximum":"6","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"osu-em-9103","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Sand Cherry profile (PDF page 152)","sourceVersion":"EM 9103, February 2015","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"minimum":"3","maximum":"7","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"pnw-590","sourceRecordId":"shrubs:Western sandcherry","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Western sandcherry profile, USDA hardiness zones field","sourceVersion":"2023-10","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"minimum":"3b","interpretation":"minimum-threshold","precision":"half-zone","zoneMapping":"derived-containing-band","sourceMeasurement":{"kind":"minimum-temperature","value":-33,"unit":"degrees-fahrenheit"},"applicability":"applicable","source":"usda-plants-characteristics","sourceRecordId":"PRPU3","sourceTaxon":"Prunus besseyi","taxonMatch":"source-identifier","sourcePlacement":"PlantCharacteristics record 90634, Temperature, Minimum (°F)","sourceVersion":"PLANTS Help Document 2022; characteristics cache retrieved 2026-08-23","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"}]},"invasiveIn":[],"statusAssertions":[],"fireEvidenceClass":"fire-resistant","recommendation":"on-list","fireSourceScopes":[{"source":"firewise-black-hills-sd-plantlist","sourceName":"Firewise Plant Material for the Black Hills","sourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20070714035957/http://www.firewise.org/usa/files/south_dakota.pdf","geography":{"grain":"aggregate-region","stateCodes":["SD"],"regions":["Black Hills"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"The page explicitly limits itself to the Black Hills, and NFPA Firewise's archived 2006 plant-list index files it under South Dakota. FireApproved publishes 47 exact genus or species owners from 48 printed rows. This is bounded Black Hills context, not statewide South Dakota coverage or a finding that a plant suits a particular site.","sourceVersion":"firewise-black-hills-scan-2004-11-30"},{"source":"fremont-county-wy-firewise-list","sourceName":"Fremont County Firewise Plant List","sourceUrl":"http://www.fremontcountyfirewise.com/WyomingFirewisePlantList.htm","geography":{"grain":"aggregate-region","stateCodes":["WY"],"regions":["Fremont County"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"The source identifies itself as the Fremont County Firewise Plant List. FireApproved publishes its 92 exact source owners as Fremont County regional context. No methodology, current county endorsement, statewide Wyoming scope, or site-specific suitability is inferred.","sourceVersion":"Fremont-County-Firewise-Plant-List-2011-02-25","asOf":"2011-02-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"idaho-firewise-master-db","sourceName":"Fire Resistance of Plants Master Database","sourceUrl":"https://idahofirewise.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/FireXResistanceXofXPlantsXMasterXDatabase.pdf","geography":{"grain":"aggregate-region","stateCodes":["ID"],"regions":["Southern Idaho"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"The official database labels itself \"For Southern Idaho\" and describes Idaho residents at the urban-rangeland interface. FireApproved publishes 419 existing plant owners that cite its scored rows. This bounded Southern Idaho scope is regional context, not statewide coverage or a conclusion that the score transfers unchanged to every Idaho site.","sourceVersion":"Idaho-Firewise-Southern-Idaho-Master-2013-11-08","asOf":"2013-11-08T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"msu-e2948","sourceName":"Wildfire-resistant Landscape Plants for Michigan (Extension Bulletin E2948)","sourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20070714035839/http://www.firewise.org/usa/files/mi_wildfire_resistant.pdf","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["MI"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"Michigan State University Extension Bulletin E2948 is explicitly a list of wildfire-resistant landscape plants for Michigan and includes a Michigan-native field. FireApproved publishes 221 exact GBIF owners from 226 represented source rows and holds 15 complex or non-exact rows. This dated publication scope is not a current site-suitability determination.","sourceVersion":"MSU-Extension-E2948-2007","asOf":"2007-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"osu-em-9103","sourceName":"Fire-resistant Landscape Plants for the Willamette Valley (EM 9103)","sourceUrl":"https://www.canbyfire.org/files/074d2a9e3/Fire-Resistant-Plants_Willamette-Valley.pdf","geography":{"grain":"aggregate-region","stateCodes":["OR"],"regions":["Willamette Valley"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"OSU Extension says EM 9103 highlights fire-resistant plants that thrive under Willamette Valley growing conditions. FireApproved publishes 172 exact owners only as valley context. The guide shares the PNW 590 lineage and is not a second independent vote or statewide site clearance.","sourceVersion":"OSU-EM-9103-2015-02","asOf":"2015-02-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"pnw-590","sourceName":"Fire-Resistant Plants for Home Landscapes (PNW 590)","sourceUrl":"https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pub/pnw-590-fire-resistant-plants-home-landscapes","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["ID","OR","WA"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"The October 2023 joint Pacific Northwest Extension publication explicitly names Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and publishes more than 150 plant profiles. FireApproved has normalized 155 exact plant records from the source; publication scope does not assert that every listed plant suits every site within the three states.","sourceVersion":"PNW-590-October-2023","asOf":"2023-10-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"usu-firewise-plants-utah","sourceName":"Firewise Plants for Utah Landscapes (NR/FF/002)","sourceUrl":"https://extension.usu.edu/smallfarms/files/FirewisePlantsUtLandscapes.pdf","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["UT"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"Utah State University Extension states that this fact sheet selects examples for Utah landscapes and that they require proper placement and maintenance. FireApproved publishes 83 exact source owners at Utah publication scope. The table is not a site-specific planting clearance.","sourceVersion":"USU-NR-FF-002-2005-02","asOf":"2005-02-01T00:00:00.000Z"}],"firePerformanceConditions":[],"maintenanceAssertions":[],"maintenanceConditions":null,"regulatoryReviews":{},"seedReviews":{}},"legacyCompatibilityProjection":{"nativeStates":[],"invasiveIn":[]},"localAssessmentContract":"Compare each dimension separately. State noxious-weed seed designations are material-scoped and never become non-seed plant restrictions, ecological-invasive findings, nursery restrictions, alternatives, product evidence, or fire votes. Introduced/established context is not an invasive warning. Minimum-only hardiness has no inferred maximum; canonical source-temperature conversion is validated and contradictory applicable rows project no primary zone. L48 context applies only to conterminous states and is never exact-state status. Fire-performance conditions are not maintenance advice. FEIS fire-ecology context does not vote in the plant classification. Absence of a status row is not regulatory clearance."}