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  3. American Plum

American Plum

Prunus americana

Summary 6

Prunus americana, commonly called the American plum, wild plum, or Marshall's large yellow sweet plum, is a species of Prunus native to North America from Saskatchewan and Idaho south to New Mexico and east to Québec, Maine and Florida.

Description 6

The American plum grows as a large shrub or small tree, reaching up to 15 feet (4.6 m). It is adapted to coarse- and medium-textured soils, but not to fine soils (silt or clay). The shrub is winter-hardy, but has little tolerance for shade, drought, or fire. Its growth is most active in spring and summer; it blooms in midspring. It propagates naturally by seed, expanding as a stand 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 broad crown. The branches are thorny. The leaves are alternately arranged, with an oval shape. The leaf length is usually 2–4 in (5.1–10.2 cm) 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 1 in (2.5 cm) in diameter.

Similar Species 7

Prunus americana var. lanata Sudw is considered a synonym of Prunus mexicana, and Prunus americana var. nigra is considered a synonym of Prunus nigra.

Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia 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, the peach.

Ecology/Wildlife Use 7

Many birds and animals eat the fruit, and both white-tailed deer and mule deer feed on twigs and leaves. Thorny plum thickets provide cover for nesting birds.

Growing American Plum 7

The preference is full to partial sun, mesic conditions, and a fertile loamy soil. This small tree is vulnerable to various diseases and insects. (illinoiswildflowers.info)

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.

Read More 8

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amerikaanse_vogelkers_Prunus_serotina_closeup.jpg
  2. (c) Rob Curtis, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Rob Curtis
  3. Аимаина хикари, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prunus_americana_Syrets2.JPG
  4. (c) Lee Elliott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Lee Elliott
  5. Аимаина хикари, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prunus_americana_Syrets1.JPG
  6. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_americana
  7. Adapted by Murfreesboro,TN, Natural Resource Division from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_americana
  8. (c) Murfreesboro,TN, Natural Resource Division, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

iNat Map

Form Shrub, Tree - small
Light Full sun, Part sun
Soil moisture Medium, Wet
Site Savanna, Wetland, Woodland
Bloom period March
Bloom color White
Fruit/seeds/etc. Fleshy
Wildlife supported Insects - pollinators, Mammals - small
Family Rose family
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