The American plum is a small, deciduous, flowering tree or shrub with a short, stout trunk and ascending branches in the rose family. It can be found in rocky or sandy soils in woodlands, pastures, abandoned farms, streams and hedgerows throughout North Carolina. As a tree, it typically grows to 10 to 20 feet tall with a broad, spreading crown. As a shrub, it suckers freely and can form large colonies or thickets. White flowers appear in early spring followed by showy and edible fruit. The genus name comes from the Latin for plum or cherry tree. The species name means of the Americas. The American plum is easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. You can remove suckers to prevent unwanted spread or to train the plant into a small tree. Maintenance is required to prevent the plant from forming thickets with its thorn-like side branches unless that is the desired result. It is fairly adaptable, tough plant and is often grown for its ornamental blossoms as much as its fruit. Fire Risk: This plant has a low flammability rating. Seasons of Interest: Blooms: Early spring Nut/Fruit/Seed: Late summer Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: Leaves and fruits are occasionally disfigured by insects and disease. Plum curculio and brown rot can affect the fruit. Other potential disease problems include leaf spot, canker and black knot. Other potential insect problems include aphids, scale, borers and tent caterpillars. This plant is susceptible to damage from deer. More information on Prunus .
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 texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
12-24 feet
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 15 ft. 0 in. - 25 ft. 0 in. | Width: 15 ft. 0 in. - 25 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
2 - Understory (15-40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Broad; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Oblong; Ovate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
The American plum has toothed, oblong to ovate leaves that are 3 to 4 inches long and turn yellow to red in autumn. The underside is pale green.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow; Red/Burgundy
Flower color
White
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower form
Umbel
Flower shape
Cup
Flower detail
The American plum has 2 to 5 flowered clusters (umbels) of 5-petaled white flowers (1 inch in diameter) that appear from March to April before the foliage. The flowers are aromatic.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Purple/Lavender; Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Drupe
Fruit value
Edible
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Flowers are followed by 1 inch, thick-skin, edible, round, red-purple plums (1 inch in diameter) with bright yellow pulp which ripen in July and August. The pulp of each fruit is fleshy and juicy and becomes sweet when the fruit is fully mature.
Bark color
Dark Gray; Light Gray; Red/Burgundy
Bark detail
The bark is smooth and reddish/gray with numerous horizontal lenticels. As the tree ages, the bark becomes rough with irregular ridges and exfoliating curling strips.
Stem color
Brown/Copper; Red/Burgundy
Stem detail
Branches and twigs are an attractive dark reddish-brown and sometimes have thorny lateral branchlets. The smaller branches are contorted in their growth habit with small stout twigs or spines.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
North America, Canada south to Florida and west to Oregon.
Wildlife value
Its 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. The fruits are eaten by songbirds, wild turkeys, quail, white-tailed deer, and small mammals. Deer also eat the twigs and leaves.
Attracts
Bees; Butterflies; Pollinators; Small Mammals; Songbirds
Although the plums can be eaten raw, the quality is somewhat poor. The fruits are perhaps better used for preserves and jellies or dried to make prunes.
Uses (ethnobotany)
The plum fruit is used to make jellies and jam. The fruit is also eaten dried, which is then called a prune.
Problem for Cats; Problem for Dogs; Problem for Horses; Spines/Thorns
Resistant to
Black Walnut; Drought; Dry Soil; Fire
Particularly resistant to
fire in the landscape. Heat and drought tolerant.
Propagation
Root Cutting; Seed; Stem Cutting
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