Prunus americana
Common name:
Wild Plum
American (Red) Plum
August Plum
Goose Plum
Pronunciation:
PROO-nus a-mer-i-KA-na
Family:
Rosaceae
Genus:
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Broadleaf deciduous shrub or small tree, often spreading and forming large clumps, a single trunk may grow to 15-25+ ft (~4.5-7.5 m) tall, young stems bear thorn-tipped dwarf shoots. Leaves alternate, simple, obovate to oblong-ovate, 6-10 cm long, tip acuminate, base rounded or broad wedge-shaped, sharply and doubly serrate, dark green, without hairs (glabrous) or pubescent on the midrib below; petiole without glands. Flowers in clusters of 2-5, white (5 rounded petals), 2-3 cm across, slightly unpleasant odor, glabrous pedicel, blooms before or with expanding leaves. Fruit yellow to red, rounded, about 2.5 cm long, with yellow flesh, sweet or sour, ripens in June in the south but in August or even as late as early October in the north; used for jams and jellies.
- Sun to part shade. Tough plant, thrives with neglect.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 3 Native range from Massachusetts to southern Ontario and Manitoba, extreme southeastern Saskatchewan, south to Montana, the Dakotas, Utah, New Mexico and Georgia.
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit
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leaves
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leaf
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leaf underside, margin and tip
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developing fruit, late spring
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fruit, summer
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trunk, bark
