Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Rosales > Rosaceae > Prunus > Prunus americana

Prunus americana (Wild Plum)

Synonyms:

Wikipedia Abstract

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.
View Wikipedia Record: Prunus americana

Infraspecies

Prunus americana var. americana
Prunus americana var. mollis

Attributes

Bloom Period [1]  Mid Spring
Drought Tolerance [1]  None
Edible [2]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Fire Tolerance [1]  Medium
Flower Type [2]  Hermaphrodite
Frost Free Days [1]  3 months 10 days
Fruit/Seed Abundance [1]  Medium
Fruit/Seed Begin [1]  Summer
Fruit/Seed End [1]  Fall
Growth Form [1]  Single Stem
Growth Period [1]  Spring, Summer
Growth Rate [1]  Moderate
Hazards [2]  Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, it belongs to a genus where most, if not all members of the genus produce hydrogen cyanide, a poison that gives almonds their characteristic flavour. This toxin is found mainly in the leaves and seed and is readily detected by its bitter taste. It is usually present in too small a quantity to do any harm but any very bitter seed or fruit should not be eaten. In small quantities, hydrogen cyanide has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion, it is also claimed to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer. In excess, however, it can cause respiratory failure and even death.
Leaf Type [2]  Deciduous
Lifespan [1]  Perennial
Pollinators [2]  Insects, Lepidoptera
Propagation [1]  Bare Root, Container, Seed
Root Depth [1]  24 inches (61 cm)
Seed Spread Rate [1]  Slow
Seed Vigor [1]  High
Seeds Per [1]  870 / lb (1918 / kg)
Shape/Orientation [1]  Erect
Specific Gravity [3]  0.5
Structure [2]  Tree
Usage [2]  A green dye can be obtained from the leaves; A dark grey to green dye can be obtained from the fruit; A red dye can be obtained from the roots; This species is widely used as a rootstock for cultivated plums in North America; The tough, elastic twigs can be bound into bundles and used as brooms for sweeping the floor; Trees often grow wild along streams, where their roots tend to prevent soil erosion; Wood - heavy, hard, close-grained, strong; It weighs 45lb per cubic foot; Of no commercial value because the trunk is too small;
Vegetative Spread Rate [1]  None
Flower Color [1]  White
Foliage Color [1]  Green
Fruit Color [1]  Red
Flower Conspicuous [1]  Yes
Fruit Conspicuous [1]  Yes
Height [2]  20 feet (6 m)
Hardiness Zone Minimum [1]  USDA Zone: 3 Low Temperature: -40 F° (-40 C°) → -30 F° (-34.4 C°)
Light Preference [1]  Full Sun
Soil Acidity [1]  Moderate Acid
Soil Fertility [1]  Intermediate
Water Use [1]  Moderate
Screening - Summer [1]  Dense
Screening - Winter [1]  Moderate
View Plants For A Future Record : Prunus americana

Protected Areas

Predators

Providers

Range Map

External References

USDA Plant Profile

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture
♦ 2Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 3Forest Inventory and Analysis DB version 5.1, May 4, 2013, U.S. Forest Service
♦ 4HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández
♦ 5Ben-Dov, Y., Miller, D.R. & Gibson, G.A.P. ScaleNet 4 November 2009
♦ 6Biological Records Centre Database of Insects and their Food Plants
♦ 7Jorrit H. Poelen, James D. Simons and Chris J. Mungall. (2014). Global Biotic Interactions: An open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics.
♦ 8Robertson, C. Flowers and insects lists of visitors of four hundred and fifty three flowers. 1929. The Science Press Printing Company Lancaster, PA.
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0