R. Schading/New York State Agricultural Experiment Station

The most widely distributed of the stone fruits, plums exist in great variety throughout much of Europe, Asia, and North America. They range in size from as small as a cherry to as large as a hen’s egg and vary in color from purple or dark blue to red, yellow, or green. Their texture may be firm or soft and their flavor bitter or sweet.

Plums are divided into three groups—European, Japanese, and native North American—based on their geographic origins. European plums include the familiar blue fruits commonly found in European and American markets. They are widely grown in the New England states and on the Pacific coast. The tart damson plums, from which jams and jellies are made, belong to this group, as do the firm sweet varieties that are dried to make prunes (see prune).

The red and yellow Japanese plums are less hardy than the European varieties and so are commonly hybridized with the American species for cultivation in colder regions. They are grown in the United States in much the same region as the European plums, as well as somewhat farther south.

Native North American plums are not as sweet or highly prized as are the European and Japanese fruits. They are quite hardy, however, and produce resistant, high-quality hybrids.

Plums are eaten fresh or dried (as prunes), cooked, or baked in a variety of pastries. In Eastern Europe they are used to make slivovitz, a popular brandy.

Plum trees are generally small and deciduous. Some varieties called flowering plums are cultivated purely as ornamentals. Their small flowers may be white or pink to red. Plums belong to the genus Prunus.