Introductory
SPECIES: Prunus americana | American Plum 



ABBREVIATION : 
PRUAME

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
NO-ENTRY


COMMON NAMES : 
   American plum
   Pottawattami plum
   wild plum
   yellow plum
   red plum
   river plum
   ciruela


TAXONOMY : 
The fully documented scientific name of American plum is Prunus
americana Marsh. [9,12,34].  A number of horticultural varieties have
been derived from this native plum.

American plum hybridizes with chickasaw plum (P. angustifolia) [19].


LIFE FORM : 
Tree

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
N. McMurray, July 1987


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
McMurray, N. 1987. Prunus americana. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Prunus americana | American Plum 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
American plum is distributed throughout much of northeastern Canada and
a major portion of the United States, although it is less common west of
the Great Plains.  This native plum occurs from Massachusetts west to
Manitoba and western Montana, south through the Rocky Mountains to New
Mexico and Arizona, and eastward to northwestern Florida [10,12].  This
species is not found in the Texas Panhandle [9].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES15  Oak - hickory
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES29  Sagebrush
   FRES34  Chaparral - mountain shrub
   FRES36  Mountain grasslands
   FRES38  Plains grasslands
   FRES39  Prairie


STATES : 
     AL  AZ  CO  CT  DE  FL  GA  IL  IN  IA
     KS  KY  LA  MD  MA  MN  MS  MO  MT  NE
     NJ  NM  NY  NC  ND  OH  OK  PA  PA  RI
     SC  SD  TN  UT  VA  WV  WI  WY  MB  ON
     PQ  SK


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     BICA  THRO  WICA


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   10  Wyoming basin
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau
   13  Rocky Mountain Piedmont
   14  Great Plains
   15  Black Hills Uplift
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K016  Eastern ponderosa forest
   K017  Black Hills pine forest
   K037  Mountain-mahogany-oak scrub
   K055  Sagebrush steppe
   K063  Foothills prairie
   K064  Grama-needlegrass-wheatgrass
   K065  Grama-buffalograss
   K066  Wheatgrass-needlegrass
   K067  Wheatgrass-bluestem-needlegrass
   K070  Sandsage-bluestem prairie
   K074  Bluestem prairie
   K081  Oak savanna


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    40  Post oak - blackjack oak
   210  Interior Douglas-fir
   237  Interior ponderosa pine


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Prunus americana | American Plum 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
NO-ENTRY


PALATABILITY : 
The degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for American
plum in several western states is rated as follows [4]:

                      CO      MT      ND      WY
Cattle               Fair    Fair    Fair    Fair 
Sheep                Fair    Fair    Fair    Fair
Horses               Poor    Poor    Poor    Poor
Pronghorn            ----    ----    Good    Poor
Elk                  Good    ----    ----    Fair
Mule deer            Good    Fair    Good    Good
White-tailed deer    Good    Fair    Good    Good 
Small mammals        ----    Good    Fair    Good
Small nongame birds  ----    Good    ----    Good
Upland game birds    ----    Good    Good    Good
Waterfowl            ----    ----    ----    Poor


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
American plum is rated as fair in energy and protein value [4].


COVER VALUE : 
The degree to which American plum provides environmental protection
during one or more seasons for wildlife species is as follows [4]:

                        CO      MT     ND      WY
Pronghorn              ----    ----   Good    Poor
Elk                    ----    ----   ----    Poor
Mule deer              ----    Fair   Good    Good
White-tailed deer      ----    Good   Good    Good
Small mammals          Fair    Good   ----    Good
Small nongame birds    Fair    Good   ----    Good
Upland game birds      ----    Good   ----    Good
Waterfowl              ----    ----   ----    Poor


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
American plum is utilized for wildlife habitat and soil stabilization
projects in the West [33].  Plummer and others [24] recommend it for use
on wet meadow and mountain brush sites in Utah.  Although seed dormancy
is a problem in almost all species of Prunus, American plum germinates
more consistently following cool, moist stratification at 36 to 41
degrees F (2.2-5 deg C) for 90 to 150 days [10].  Vories [32] reported
that stratified seed should be planted 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm) deep in
the spring or fall; for nursery culture, seeds should be sown at the
rate of four seeds per square foot.  Seed viability is estimated to be
approximately 5 years [10].  This species can also be successfully
propagated via stem cuttings.


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
American plum is a commonly cultivated fruit plant thoughout its range.
Fruits are used in making pies, jams, jellies, and desert sauces [34].
A number of horticultural varieties have been derived from this native
plum.  Rootstocks are utilized for the propagation of plums in northern
climates [10].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Prunus americana | American Plum 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
American plum is a native, deciduous, sometimes thicket-forming, erect
shrub or small tree.  The growth habit of this species can vary
considerably; plants range from shrubs approximately 3 feet (1 m) in
height to arborescent individuals growing up to 32.8 feet (10 m) [12].
On the Great Plains this species typically grows from 9.8 to 26.2 feet
(3 to 8 m) tall and is rarely treelike [9].  In Utah, American plum
forms thickets reaching heights of up to 16.4 feet (5 m), and treelike
individuals are uncommon [34].  The leaves are somewhat stout with
pubescent, usually glandless petioles; twigs often become somewhat
spinelike at the tips.  White flowers usually appear before the leaves
and are borne in fasicles of two to five on the tip of spur branchlets
or from axillary buds formed the previous season.  Fruits are yellow to
red plums (drupes), at least 0.8 inch (2 cm) long with yellow flesh and
a compressed stone.  Although this species sometimes produces small,
hard plums, the fruits are generally fleshy and highly palatable.
Occassionally trees cultivated for plums escape and persist.
Horticultural varieties can be distinguished from the native species by
their larger petals, smaller flower clusters (one to three per node),
and sometimes by the gland-tipped teeth of the leaves.


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
American plum regenerates sexually and vegetatively.  Although
regenerative strategies have not been widely documented, vegetative
expansion via rhizome initiation is apparently the primary mode of
regeneration.  This shrub typically forms thickets and colonies in the
western portion of its distribution [9,12,34].

The fruit of American plum is a yellow to red drupe containing a
compressed stone.  Seeds are approximately 0.6 to 0.7 inch (1.5 to 1.8
cm) long and 0.4 to 0.5 inch (1 to 1.2 cm) wide.  As with all species
within the Prunus genus, seed dormancy is a problem.  In order to
overcome dormancy, seeds must be exposed to an afterripening period in
the presence of oxygen and moisture [9].  Germination is usually
enhanced following cool, moist stratification for 90 to 150 days at 50
degrees F (10 degrees C); germinative capacity is approximately 60
percent following stratification at 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) for 60
days.  Germination requirements appear to vary geographically.  American
plum seed from northern Minnesota germinated much better at 50 degrees F
(10 degrees C) than at higher temperatures; whereas optimal germinating
temperatures for seeds from Nebraska are from 70 to 80 degrees F (21.1
to 26.6 degrees C) [39].  Seedbed characteristics are virtually
unstudied in this species.  Although the majority of seeds are presumed
to be deposited beneath the parent plant, frugivorous mammals probably
function as long-distance dispersal vectors.  Rogers and Applegate [26]
speculated that black bears are one of only a few disperal agents for
large-seeded species such as American plum.


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
In the western portion of its range, American plum is locally
distributed on moist to dry sites ranging from the plains to lower
elevations in the mountains [12].  Although commonly associated with
riparian areas, this species also occupies open to wooded locations such
as prairie ravines, pastures, roadsides, fencerows, ditchbanks, and
natural drainage patterns [9].  Soils on most sites consist of sandy to
rich loams, but plants are also somewhat tolerant of saline soils in the
West [4].

 Elevational ranges for several western states is as follows [4]:

	from 4,600 to 7,500 ft (1,402 to 2,287 m) in UT
             3,500 to 6,000 ft (1,067 to 1,829 m) in CO
             3,500 to 4,500 ft (1,067 to 1,372 m) in WY


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
American plum typically blooms from April to May in the Pacific
Northwest [12] and on the Great Plains [9].  Flowers characteristically
appear before the leaves and are borne in fasicles of two to five on the
tip of spur branchlets or from axillary buds formed the previous season.
Seed matures from September and October in Utah [24].

Flowering data from some western states are presented below [4,7]:

State             Earliest flowering date             Latest flowering date

CO                       April                               May
MT                       May                                 May
ND                       April                               May
UT                       May                                 June

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Prunus americana | American Plum 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Presumably this native plum is somewhat resistant to fire due to its
tendency to spread through underground stems [34].  To a lesser degree,
postburn regeneration probably also involves the germination of off-site
seed dispersed by mammals.  Two other Prunus species indigenous to the
western United States, chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) and bittercherry
(Prunus emarginata), are well adapted to disturbance by fire
[1,31,36,37].  Although readily top-killed, these shrubs resprout
vigorously from surviving buds located on rhizomes and root crowns in
chokecherry [11] and from root crowns in bittercherry [18,23].  Postfire
recovery in both species is relatively rapid following burning [16,17,21].
Apparently buried seed banks can be a significant mode of postfire
regeneration for bittercherry and perhaps chokecherry on moist,
coniferous forest sites in northern Idaho [14,23].  The degree to which
seedbanks contribute to the postburn regeneration of these species in
more xeric habitats such as dry conifer forests and mountain brush
communities is presently unknown.


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tree with adventitious-bud root crown/soboliferous species root sucker
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Prunus americana | American Plum 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
This species is presumed to be somewhat resistant to fire mortality due
to its ability to spread from underground rootstocks [9,12,36].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
The Prunus genus is generally resistant to fire mortality [37].  Season
of burning and burn frequency appear to have a significant effect upon
the ability of both chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) and bittercherry
(Prunus emarginata) to survive burning.


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Postburn plant response in American plum has not been widely documented.
However, a similar species of native plum, chickasaw plum (Prunus
angustifolia), recovers quite rapidly on grassland sites in Texas [13].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
Ubiquitous seedling establishment following disturbance by fire has been
documented in a number of Prunus species which typically occur as seral
shrubs in forested communities.  These include pin cherry (Prunus
pensylvanica) [8,20], black cherry (Prunus serotina) [2], and
bittercherry [18,23].


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

References for species: Prunus americana

1. Anderson, Howard G.; Bailey, Arthur W. 1980. Effects of annual burning on grassland in the aspen parkland of east-central Alberta. Canadian Journal of Botany. 58: 985-996. [3499]

2. Auclair, Allan N.; Cottam, Grant. 1971. Dynamics of black cherry (Prunus serotina Erhr.) in southern Wisconsin oak forests. Ecological Monographs. 41(2): 153-177. [8102]

3. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]

4. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]

5. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]

6. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]

7. Goodrich, Sherel; Neese, Elizabeth. 1986. Uinta Basin flora. [Place of publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 320 p. [23307]

8. Graber, Raymond E.; Thompson, Donald F. 1978. Seeds in the organic layers and soil of four beech-birch-maple stands. Res. Pap. NE-401. Broomall, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 8 p. [5983]

9. Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. 1392 p. [1603]

10. Grisez, Ted J. 1974. Prunus L. cherry, peach, and plum. In: Schopmeyer, C. S., technical coordinator. Seeds of woody plants in the United States. Agriculture Handbook No. 450. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 658-673. [6975]

11. Habeck, James; Stickney, Peter; Pfister, Robert; Noste, Nonan. 1980. Fire response classification of Montana forest species. The University of Montana, Missoula, MT. 15 p. Unpublished paper on file at: Intermountain Fire Sciences Laboratory, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Missoula, MT: 15 p. [6993]

12. Hitchcock, A. S. 1951. Manual of the grasses of the United States. Misc. Publ. No. 200. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Administration. 1051 p. [2nd edition revised by Agnes Chase in two volumes. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.]. [1165]

13. Jackson, A. S. 1965. Wildfires in the Great Plains grasslands. In: Proceedings, 4th annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference; 1965 March 18-19; Tallahasee, FL. Tallahasee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 241-259. [1239]

14. Kramer, Neal B. 1984. Mature forest seed banks on three habitat types in central Idaho. Moscow, ID: University of Idaho. 106 p. Thesis. [1375]

15. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]

16. Leege, Thomas A. 1968. Prescribed burning for elk in northern Idaho. In: Proceedings, annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference; 1968 March 14-15; Tallahassee, FL. No 8. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 235-253. [5287]

17. Leege, Thomas A. 1979. Effects of repeated prescribed burns on northern Idaho elk browse. Northwest Science. 53(2): 107-113. [5116]

18. Leege, Thomas A.; Hickey, William O. 1971. Sprouting of northern Idaho shrubs after prescribed burning. Journal of Wildlife Management. 35(3): 508-515. [1437]

19. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 375 p. [2952]

20. Marks, P. L. 1974. The role of pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica L.) in the maintenance of stability in northern hardwood ecosystems. Ecological Monographs. 44: 73-88. [4144]

21. McKell, Cyrus M. 1950. A study of plant succession in the oak brush (Quercus gambelii) zone after fire. Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah. 79 p. Thesis. [1608]

22. Morgan, Penelope; Neuenschwander, L. F. 1985. Modeling shrub succession following clearcutting and broadcast burning. In: Lotan, James E.; Brown, James K., compilers. Fire's effects on wildlife habitat--symposium proceedings; 1984 March 21; Missoula, MT. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-186. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: 83-90. [1692]

23. Morgan, Penelope; Neuenschwander, Leon F. 1988. Shrub response to high and low severity burns following clearcutting in northern Idaho. Western Journal of Applied Forestry. 3(1): 5-9. [3895]

24. Plummer, A. Perry; Christensen, Donald R.; Monsen, Stephen B. 1968. Restoring big-game range in Utah. Publ. No. 68-3. Ephraim, UT: Utah Division of Fish and Game. 183 p. [4554]

25. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]

26. Rogers, Lynn L.; Applegate, Rodger D. 1983. Dispersal of fruit seeds by black bears. Journal of Mammalogy. 64(2): 310-311. [5941]

27. Shiflet, Thomas N., ed. 1994. Rangeland cover types of the United States. Denver, CO: Society for Range Management. 152 p. [23362]

28. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 10 p. [20090]

29. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1994. Plants of the U.S.--alphabetical listing. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 954 p. [23104]

30. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Biological Survey. [n.d.]. NP Flora [Data base]. Davis, CA: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Biological Survey. [23119]

31. Volland, Leonard A.; Dell, John D. 1981. Fire effects on Pacific Northwest forest and range vegetation. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Range Management and Aviation and Fire Management. 23 p. [2434]

32. Vories, Kimery C. 1981. Growing Colorado plants from seed: a state of the art. Volume I. Shrubs. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-103. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 80 p. [3426]

33. Wasser, Clinton H. 1982. Ecology and culture of selected species useful in revegetating disturbed lands in the West. FWS/OBS-82/56. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 347 p. [4837]

34. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. The Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]

35. Wertz, Tara L.; Flake, Lester D. 1988. Wild turkey nesting ecology in south central South Dakota. Prairie Naturalist. 20(1): 29-37. [9335]

36. Wright, Henry A.; Bailey, Arthur W. 1982. Fire ecology: United States and southern Canada. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 501 p. [2620]

37. Wright, Henry A.; Neuenschwander, Leon F.; Britton, Carlton M. 1979. The role and use of fire in sagebrush-grass and pinyon-juniper plant communities: A state-of-the-art review. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-58. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 48 p. [2625]

38. Young, Richard P. 1983. Fire as a vegetation management tool in rangelands of the Intermountain Region. In: Monsen, Stephen B.; Shaw, Nancy, compilers. Managing Intermountain rangelands--improvement of range and wildlife habitats: Proceedings; 1981 September 15-17; Twin Falls, ID; 1982 June 22-24; Elko, NV. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-157. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station: 18-31. [2681]

39. Grime, J. P. 1979. Plant strategies & vegetation proceses. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons. 222 p. [2896]

Related categories for Species: Prunus americana | American Plum