Prunus americana
Encyclopedia
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
to New Mexico
east to New Hampshire
and Florida
. It has often been planted outside its core range and sometimes escapes cultivation. It is commonly confused with the Canada Plum (Prunus nigra
), 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
the domestic plum
.
The roots are shallow, widely spread, and send up suckers. There are numerous stems per plant, which 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 – long. The upper surface of the leaf is dark green and under side 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 inches (2.5 cm) in diameter.
, and Prunus americana var. nigra is considered a synonym of Prunus nigra
.
Chickasaw plum (P. 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.
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
and mule deer
feed on twigs and leaves.
Traditionally, American plum was extensively used by Native Americans. The Cheyenne ate the plums, and used branches for the Sun Dance. The Navajo
used the roots to make a red dye.
Prunus
Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes the plums, cherries, peaches, apricots and almonds. There are around 430 species spread throughout the northern temperate regions of the globe. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for fruit and ornament.-Botany:Members of the genus...
native to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
from Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
east to New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. It has often been planted outside its core range and sometimes escapes cultivation. It is commonly confused with the Canada Plum (Prunus nigra
Prunus nigra
Prunus nigra is a species of Prunus, native to eastern North America from New Brunswick west to southeastern Manitoba, and south to Connecticut across to Iowa...
), 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
Grafting
Grafting is a horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together. This vascular joining is called inosculation...
the domestic plum
Prunus domestica
Prunus domestica is a Prunus species with many varieties. These are often called "plums" in common English, though not all plums belong to this species. Its hybrid parentage is believed to be Prunus spinosa and Prunus cerasifera var. divaricata...
.
Description
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. The shrub is winter-hardy, but has little tolerance for shade, drought, or fire. Its growth is most active in spring and summer, and it blooms in mid spring. It propagates by seed, but the rate of spread by seed is slow.The roots are shallow, widely spread, and send up suckers. There are numerous stems per plant, which 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 – long. The upper surface of the leaf is dark green and under side 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 inches (2.5 cm) in diameter.
Taxonomy
Prunus americana var. lanata Sudw is considered a synonym of Prunus mexicanaPrunus mexicana
Prunus mexicana, commonly known as the Mexican Plum, is a species of plum tree that is found in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States as well as Northern Mexico. Its native range stretches from South Dakota and Ohio in the north to as far south as Alabama and Coahuila. Mexican Plum is...
, and Prunus americana var. nigra is considered a synonym of Prunus nigra
Prunus nigra
Prunus nigra is a species of Prunus, native to eastern North America from New Brunswick west to southeastern Manitoba, and south to Connecticut across to Iowa...
.
Chickasaw plum (P. 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.
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. SargentCharles Sprague Sargent
Charles Sprague Sargent was an American botanist. He was the first director of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts and the standard botanical author abbreviation Sarg. is applied to plants he described.-Biography:Sargent was the second son of Henrietta and...
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
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
and mule deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
feed on twigs and leaves.
Traditionally, American plum was extensively used by Native Americans. The Cheyenne ate the plums, and used branches for the Sun Dance. The Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
used the roots to make a red dye.
External links
- American plum, Virginia Tech Department of Forestry Tree ID.
- Fryer, Janet L. 2010. Prunus americana. In: USDA Fire Effects Information System