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Prunus americana

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Prunus americana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Prunus
Subgenus: Prunus subg. Prunus
Section: Prunus sect. Prunocerasus
Species:
P. americana
Binomial name
Prunus americana
Distribution of Prunus americana[4]
Synonyms[5][6]
  • Prunus acinaria Desf.
  • Prunus coccinea Raf.
  • Prunus mollis Torr.[a][citation needed]
  • Prunus hyemalis Michx.
  • Prunus mississipi Marsh.

Prunus americana, commonly called the American plum,[7] wild plum, or Marshall's large yellow sweet plum, is a species of Prunus native to North America.

Many cultivated varieties have been derived from the species. The fruit has a number of culinary uses and the domestic plum can be grafted to the rootstock. The fruit and roots were also used by Native Americans.

Description

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The American plum grows as a large shrub or small tree, growing at a moderate rate to 4.6 metres (15 feet) in height and 3 m (10 ft) in width.[8][9][10] The roots are shallow, widely spread, and send up suckers.[8] The branches are thorny. The green leaves are alternately arranged, oval, and 5–11 centimeters (2–4+1⁄4 in) long.[11][10]

Blooming in spring, small white flowers with five petals occur singly or in clusters in the leaf axils. In summer, bright red globular fruits grow to about 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter.[11][12]

Similar species

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Prunus nigra (Canada plum) is similar, but the fruit is comparatively yellow, smaller, and less round.[12]

Taxonomy

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Prunus americana var. lanata Sudw is considered a synonym of Prunus mexicana, and Prunus americana var. nigra is considered a synonym of Prunus nigra.[7]

Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia Marsh.) hybridizes naturally with P. americana to produce P. × orthosepala Koehne.[13]

In cultivation, many crosses have been made between American plum and other Prunus species, including Prunus persica, the peach.

Distribution and habitat

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The species is native to North America from Saskatchewan and Idaho south to New Mexico and east to Québec, Maine and Florida.[14] It has often been planted outside its native range and sometimes escapes cultivation.[15]

The plant is adapted to coarse- and medium-textured soils, but not to fine soils (silt or clay).[10] It can survive harsh winters down to temperatures of −38 °F (−39 °C) and is tolerant of shade, with mild fire tolerance and no drought tolerance.[10]

Ecology

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Many birds and animals eat the fruit, and both white-tailed deer and mule deer feed on twigs and leaves.[16][17]

Cultivation

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Trees growing

The white flowers are decorative in spring and its short, single leader makes it a popular residential landscape tree. According to botanist Charles Sprague Sargent,

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.[12]

By 1950, over 200 forms had been selected for cultivation, with at least 50 cultivars known.[15]

Uses

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The sour and sweet fruit is eaten fresh and is processed as preserves, jellies, jam and wine.[15] The tree also forms an excellent rootstock upon which to graft the domestic plum.[18] The Plains Indians and Cheyenne ate the plums;[19] the latter used the branches for the Sun Dance. The Navajo used the roots to make a red dye.[20][21]

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.[22]

In culture

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Eastern Native Americans planted many trees, giving many places the name of Crab Orchard.[23][full citation needed]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Misapplied by some sources;[which?] authorities[specify][who?] say Prunus mollis is a synonym of Prunus nigra.

References

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  1. ↑ Pollard, R.P.; Rhodes, L.; Maxted, N. (2016). "Prunus americana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T50669154A50672305. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T50669154A50672305.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Bailey, Liberty Hyde (1916). The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. New York: Macmillan Publishers.
  3. ↑ Bailey, Liberty Hyde (1916). The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture: A Discussion for the Amateur, and the Professional and Commercial Grower, of the Kinds, Characteristics and Methods of Cultivation of the Species of Plants Grown in the Regions of the United States and Canada for Ornament, for Fancy, for Fruit and for Vegetables; with Keys to the Natural Families and Genera, Descriptions of the Horticultural Capabilities of the States and Provinces and Dependent Islands, and Sketches of Eminent Horticulturists. Macmillan.
  4. ↑ Elbert L. Little, Jr. "Digital Representations of Tree Species Range Maps". Atlas of United States Trees.
  5. ↑ "Prunus americana Marshall". Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  6. ↑ "Prunus americana var. mollis (Torr.) Torr. & A. Gray". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Gardens. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  7. 1 2 NRCS. "Prunus americana". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 "USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet: American Plum, Prunus americana Marsh" (PDF). USDA.
  9. ↑ "American Plum" (PDF). North Dakota State University. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Prunus americana Marshall – Characteristics". USDA Plants Database. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
  11. 1 2 Rohrer, Joseph R. (2014). "Prunus americana". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 9. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  12. 1 2 3 Keeler, Harriet L. (1900). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 120–122.
  13. ↑ Lee, Sangtae; Wen, Jun. (2001). A phylogenetic analysis of Prunus and the Amygdaloideae (Rosaceae) using ITS sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA. American Journal of Botany. 88(1): 150-160.
  14. ↑ Kartesz, John T. (2014). "Prunus americana". State-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP).
  15. 1 2 3 Little, Elbert L., Jr. (1950). Southwestern Trees: A Guide to the Native Species of New Mexico And Arizona. United States Forest Service. p. 62.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ "FPS492/FP492: Prunus americana American Plum". Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  17. ↑ Morris, Melvin S.; Schmautz, Jack E.; Stickney, Peter F. (1962). Winter field key to the native shrubs of Montana. Bulletin No. 23. Missoula, MT: Montana State University, Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station. 70 p.
  18. ↑ Keeler, Harriet L. (Harriet Louise) (1900). Our native trees and how to identify them; a popular study of their habits and their peculiarities. University of Michigan. New York, C. Scribner's Sons.
  19. ↑ Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 534.
  20. ↑ Hart, Jeffrey A. (1981). The ethnobotany of the Northern Cheyenne Indians of Montana. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 4: 1-55.
  21. ↑ Elmore, Francis H. (1944). Ethnobotany of the Navajo. Monograph Series: 1(7). Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico. 136 p.
  22. ↑ Kansas Forests, American plum Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on April 20, 2010
  23. ↑ {Aronhime papers, Virginia State Library}[full citation needed]
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