Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

wild plum

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Prunus americana

Family:

Rosaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

to 30 ft

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

purple

Phenology:

Winter deciduous. Blooms in spring.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen tree.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales

Propagation:

Better specimens are grown from cuttings.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Short very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

Circum-neutral to calcareous

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Pollinated by bees.





Attracts butterflies.





Larval host for the Coral Hairstreak, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Red-Spotted Purple, Spring/Summer Azures, and Viceroy butterflies.

Birds, squirrels, and other animals eat the fruit, and deer may browse the foliage, but the plant is not generally considered ideal food for either.  It is used for hiding and nesting.

Native Habitats:

Woodlands.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

Fruit is edible but not particularly good. Sometimes used for jellies/preserves. Most other parts of the plant are poisonous.

General Comments:

The range of this species covers much of North America, especially the midwest and mid-to-north Atlantic states and extends into southern Canada.  Florida is the southern limit, and locations documented by herbarium specimens are scattered.  Warm winter termperatures likely interfere with reproduction, and at least one of the southern herbarium specimens appears to be at a location where it could have been deposited by a bird. 



Once established, this plant should be an attractive bloomer.