''Prunus americana'', commonly called the American plum, wild plum, or Marshall's large yellow sweet plum, is a species of ''

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the p ...

'' native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

from

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and Idaho south to

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and east to

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. ''Prunus americana'' has often been planted outside its native range and sometimes escapes cultivation.Little, Elbert L., Jr. (1950). ''Southwestern trees'': A guide to the native species of New Mexico and Arizona. Agric. Handb. No. 9. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 109 p. It is commonly confused with the Canada plum (''

Prunus nigra ''Prunus nigra'', the Canada plum, Canadian plum, or black plum, is a species of ''Prunus'' native to eastern North America. Description ''Prunus nigra'' is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to tall with a trunk up to in diameter, with ...

''), although the fruit is smaller and rounder and bright red as opposed to yellow. Many cultivated varieties have been derived from this species. It forms an excellent stock upon which to

graft Graft or grafting may refer to: *Graft (politics), a form of political corruption * Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp Science and technology *Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure *Grafting, the joining of plant t ...

the domestic plum. Downloadable Google Books a

/ref>

Description

The American plum grows as a large shrub or small tree, reaching up to . It is adapted to coarse- and medium-textured soils, but not to fine soils (silt or clay). Beneficially, the shrub survives harsh winters, down to temperatures of -40 degrees (Fahrenheit); but has little tolerance for shade, drought, or fire. Its growth is most active in spring and summer; it blooms in spring and starts fruiting in summer. It propagates naturally by seed, expanding as a

stand Stand or The Stand may refer to: * To assume the upright position of standing * Forest stand, a group of trees * Area of seating in a stadium, such as bleachers * Stand (cricket), a relationship between two players * Stand (drill pipe), 2 or 3 ...

relatively slowly, due to its long time to maturity when grown from seed. The roots are shallow, widely spread, and send up suckers. The numerous stems per plant become scaly with age. The tree has a crown width and height of 10 feet at maturity. The branches are thorny. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are alternately arranged, with an oval shape. The leaf length is usually long. The upper surface of the leaf is dark green; the underside is smooth and pale. The small white flowers with five petals occur singly or in clusters in the leaf axils. The globular fruits are about in diameter.

Taxonomy

''Prunus americana'' var. ''lanata'' Sudw is considered a synonym of ''

Prunus mexicana ''Prunus mexicana'', commonly known as the Mexican plum, is a North American species of plum tree that can be found in the central United States and Northern Mexico. Description ''Prunus mexicana'' has a single trunk and reaches a height of . ...

'', and ''Prunus americana'' var. ''nigra'' is considered a synonym of ''

''. Chickasaw plum (''

Prunus angustifolia ''Prunus angustifolia'', known commonly as Chickasaw plum, Cherokee plum, Florida sand plum, sandhill plum, or sand plum, is a North American species of plum-bearing tree. It was originally cultivated by Native Americans before the arrival of E ...

'' Marsh.) hybridizes naturally with ''P. americana'' to produce ''P.'' × ''orthosepala'' Koehne. In cultivation, many crosses have been made between American plum and other ''Prunus'' species, including ''

Prunus persica ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the paleo ...

'', the peach.

Uses

The American plum is used for both ornamental and culinary purposes. The white flowers are decorative in spring and its short, single leader makes it a popular residential landscape tree. Sargent says of it: "As an ornamental plant ''P. americana'' has real value; the long wand-like branches form a wide, graceful head which is handsome in winter and in spring is covered with masses of pure white flowers followed by ample bright foliage and abundant showy fruit." More than 200 forms of American plum have been grown for cultivation. The sour and sweet fruit is eaten fresh and is processed as preserves, jellies, jam and wine. Farms use medium to tall shrubs or trees for windbreaks, and highway or riverside plantings. Its high density of growth effectively reduces the wind velocity near the ground. Development of suckers from the root system makes American plum effective in stabilizing stream banks and gullies. It will tolerate several days of flooding. Some commercial properties plant the trees along the entrance road. Many birds and animals eat the fruit, and both

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

and

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

feed on twigs and leaves. Traditionally, American plum was extensively used by Native Americans. Eastern Native Americans planted many trees giving many places the name of Crab Orchard. The

Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...

and Cheyenne ate the plums; the latter used the branches for the Sun Dance. The

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

used the roots to make a red dye.Elmore, Francis H. (1944). ''Ethnobotany of the Navajo.'' Monograph Series: 1(7). Albuquerque, NM:

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

. 136 p.

In culture

American plums are described in

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the ''Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...

's ''

On the Banks of Plum Creek ''On the Banks of Plum Creek'' is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1937, the fourth of nine books in her ''Little House'' series. It is based on a few years of her childhood when the Ingalls ...

'' (1937):

Notes

References

External links

American plum
Virginia Tech Department of Forestry Tree identification

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q469524, from2=Q39779465

americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

Edible fruits Flora of the Eastern United States Flora of the Western United States Fruits originating in North America Trees of Canada Trees of the United States Plants used in Native American cuisine Plants described in 1785

Trees of the Eastern United States Trees of the Western United States Trees of the Southern United States Trees of North America Trees of the Plains-Midwest (United States) Trees of the North-Central United States Trees of the Great Lakes region (North America) Trees of the Northeastern United States Trees of the South-Central United States Trees of the Southeastern United States Trees of Eastern Canada