Table of Contents for American Plum (Prunus americana)
American Plum (Prunus americana) is a shrub to small tree that is native to most of the United States and mid-west to eastern Canada. This plant is a host to four butterflies and many moths, including the Luna Moth and is an important nectar source for other insects. Growing from 5 to 25 feet tall, this species grows in open areas such wood edges, roadsides, and thickets. The white flowers age to pink and bloom from April to June and the plant is hardy in zones 3-9.
Taxonomy and Naming of American Plum (Prunus americana)
Taxonomy
American Plum (Prunus americana) was named and described by Humphrey Marshall, an American botanist, in 1785. It still has the same name and is a member of the Rose Family (Rosaceae).
Meaning of the Scientific and Common Names
Scientific Name
The genus name, Prunus, is Latin for “plum tree.” The species name, americana, is a Latinized version of America, where the species is native.
Common Name and Alternative Names
The common name comes from the native location of the species. Some other common names include indian plum (Murrill 1920), hog plum (Bergen 1893), wild yellow and red plum (Rothrock 1894), and wild plum (Wikipedia).
Physical Description
- Plant Type: This plant is a shrub to small tree.
- Height: 5 to 25 (35) feet tall
- Stem: The branches are thorny.
- Leaves: The leaves are alternate, petiolate, oval in shape, have serrate margins, and are 2 to 4 inches in length and 1 to 2 inches in width.
- Flower color: white
- Blooming period: This plant blooms from April to June.
- Fruiting type and period: This plant has bright red drupes that mature from August to September.
Range of American Plum in the United States and Canada
This species is native to most of North America except for the states of Alaska, California, Louisiana, and Nevada in the United States and the far west and east of Canada. It considered to be rare in the states of Arkansas and Vermont, and the province of Saskatchewan.
Habitat
This species grows in open areas such as roadsides, wood edges, woodlands, and thickets.
Hosted Insects
The Prunus genus is general is a host to four butterflies including the henry’s elfin (Callophrys henrici), Coral hairstreak (Satyrium titus), the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), and the Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) (Gaden, et al 2023). This genus also hosts many moths and one of the notable ones is the Luna Moth (Actias luna).
Other Supported Wildlife
This species is an important nectar source to other butterflies such as the eastern pine elfin (Callophrys niphon) and the thicket hairstreak (C. spinetorum) (Sheilds 1972), skippers, bees, and wasps. Birds and small mammals enjoy the fruits in the summer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this plant have any ethnobotanical uses?
The Native American Ethobotanical Database shows as the name would imply is a popular fruit and food. It has also been used for numerous pharmaceutical uses and for dyes and fibers. This species has been as being used by the Navajo for a dye (Hart and Cox 2000).
How is this plant distinguished from other Cherries (Prunus spp.)?
This species is similar to the Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana), but the Mexican Plum has does not produce root suckers like the American Plum (Flora of North America). The Mexican Plum also has a rounded leaf base versus the cuneate leaf base of the American Plum (Weakley, et al 2022) and the fruit of the Mexican Plum is bluish to purple-red (Robinson 1974) as compared to the brighter red of this species. This species is sometimes compared to the Canadian Plum (Prunus nigra), but the Canadian Plum has incurved teeth versus the straight teeth of this species (Arnold Arboretum 1923).
Is this plant invasive?
This plant has not been noted as being invasive in the literature.
Gardening with American Plum
![HardinessThis species is hardy in zones 3-9. If your garden is within these zones and you have the right growing conditions (soil, moisture and exposure), you may well be able to grow this plant. However, if planted outside of its range, the hosted species may not recognize the plant or be harmed by ingesting a different species with an unfamiliar chemical composition.Optimal ConditionsThis species grows in full sun to part shade and prefers medium to dry well-drained soil.](http://<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spreeaue_Cottbus-Nord_2021-04-24_12.jpg">Leonhard Lenz</a>, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons”>CC0 1.0</a>)</figcaption></figure></div></div><div class=){kind=link}
Hardiness
This species is hardy in zones 3-9. If your garden is within these zones and you have the right growing conditions (soil, moisture and exposure), you may well be able to grow this plant. However, if planted outside of its range, the hosted species may not recognize the plant or be harmed by ingesting a different species with an unfamiliar chemical composition.
Optimal Conditions
This species grows in full sun to part shade and prefers medium to dry well-drained soil.
References
- Arnold Arboretum. 1923. Plums. Bulletin of Popular Information 9: 8.
- Bergen, Fanny D. 1893. Popular American Plant Names. II. Botanical Gazette 11: 420-427.
- Gaden S. Robinson; Phillip R. Ackery; Ian Kitching; George W Beccaloni; Luis M. Hernández (2023). HOSTS (from HOSTS – a Database of the World’s Lepidopteran Hostplants) [Data set resource]. Natural History Museum. Link to Hosts Database Website.
- Hart, Kimberly Hamblin and Paul Alan Cox. 2000. A cladistic approach to comparative ethnobotany: Dye plants of the Southwestern United States. Journal of Ethnobiology 20: 303-325.
- Murrill, William Alphonso. 1920. An excursion to Mountain Lake, Virginia. Torreya 20: 116-119.
- Robinson, Kenneth Ray. 1974. The genera of the Rosaceae in the southeastern United States [concl.]. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 55(4): 611-662.
- Rothrock, Joseph T. 1894. Forests of Pennsylvania. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 33(144): 114-133.
- Shields, O. 1972. Flower visitation records for butterflies (Lepidoptera). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 3: 189-203.
- Weakley, A.S. and Southeastern Flora Team 2022. Flora of the southeastern United States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden.
- Wight, W.F. 1915. Native American species of Prunus. (Washington, DC: USDA) Bulletin of the US Department of Agriculture no.179.
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