Chickasaw Plum is usually a shrub that may grow 15 feet tall. The leaves are alternate with a finely toothed margin. The bark is smooth and red with numerous elongated light lenticels. As the tree ages, the bark becomes scaly and shallowly furrowed. In early spring, small, 5-petaled, white flowers mature in clumps. The small tree produces a 1/2-inch, yellow-to-red drupe that matures in summer. The Chickasaw plum grows best in average, medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. It is important to promptly remove root suckers to prevent any unwanted spread. This plant is adaptable to wide range of growing conditions and soils. Fire Risk: This plant has a low flammability rating. Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: Plum curculio and brown rot can affect the fruit of the Chickasaw plum. Other potential disease problems include leaf spot, canker and black knot. Other potential insect problems include aphids, scale, borers and tent caterpillars. More information on Prunus .
Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗Reconciled to full toolbox: matched by slug to slug 'prunus-angustifolia'. Identity (id/common/scientific name) preserved from the original 87-plant Hunnicutt set; attribute data refreshed from the 56-attribute toolbox scrape.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in. | Width: 4 ft. 0 in. - 20 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
2 - Understory (15-40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Dense
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Ovate
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
The leaves of the Chickasaw plum are toothed, narrow, oval-lanceolate, and bright green (1-3" long). The branches and twigs are an attractive reddish-brown and sometimes have thorny lateral branchlets.
Flower color
White
Flower detail
White flowers bloom from March to April.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Gold/Yellow; Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Berry; Nut
Fruit detail
Yellow and red fruit displays from May to July.
Stem color
Red/Burgundy
Stem detail
The branches and twigs are an attractive reddish-brown and sometimes have thorny lateral branchlets.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Wildlife value
Thickets provide good cover for songbirds and small mammals year round. This plant provides nectar for pollinators and is a larval host plant for several species of butterflies. You may see Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus) which has one flight from May-August, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), which has three flights from February-November in the deep south and March-September in the north, Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon) which has many flights from January-October at the gulf coast getting shorter as you move north, Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) which has two to three broods May-September, and Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) has two broods from April-October. Fruits are eaten by songbirds, wild turkeys, quail, white-tailed deer, and small mammals.
Attracts
Butterflies; Pollinators; Small Mammals; Songbirds
Host plant for
several species of butterflies
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Summer
Fruit type
Berry; Nut
Edibility
Although the plums may be eaten raw, they are somewhat tart and acidic, and are perhaps best used in preserves and jellies.
Uses (ethnobotany)
Native Americans regularly consumed the fruit fresh or dried it for winter.
Problem for Cats; Problem for Dogs; Problem for Horses
Resistant to
Fire
Particularly resistant to
fire in the landscape.
Fire risk
low flammability
Poison severity
Medium
Poison parts
Leaves; Seeds; Stems
Poison symptoms
The pits contain cyanide compounds, which are poisonous. If a couple of pits are accidentally swallowed, it will not cause poisoning. The pits are more poisonous if they are ground up/crushed or the seeds are chewed. Fruit that has not been pitted should not be blended into a smoothie. Symptoms include Gasping, weakness, excitement, pupil dilation, spasms, convulsions, coma, respiratory failure.
Toxic principle
Cyanogenic glycosides
Contact dermatitis
No
Toxicity summary
Medium severity poison; parts: Leaves; Seeds; Stems