Plum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A plum is a fruit of the subgenus Prunus of the genus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other
subgenera (peaches, cherries, bird cherries, etc.) in the shoots having terminal bud and solitary side buds (not
clustered), the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running
down one side and a smooth stone (or pit).
Mature plum fruit may have a dusty-white coating that gives them a glaucous appearance. This is an
epicuticular wax coating and is known as "wax bloom". Dried plum fruits are called dried plums or prunes,
although prunes are a distinct type of plum, and may have antedated the fruits now commonly known as plums.

Plums are a diverse group of species. The commercially important plum trees are medium-sized, usually pruned
to 56 metres height. The tree is of medium hardiness.[2] Without pruning, the trees can reach 12 metres in
height and spread across 10 metres. They blossom in different months in different parts of the world; for
example, in about January in Taiwan and early April in the United Kingdom.[3]
Fruits are usually of medium size, between 1 and 3 inches in diameter, globose to oval. The flesh is firm and
juicy. The fruit's peel is smooth, with a natural waxy surface that adheres to the flesh. The plum is a drupe,
meaning its fleshy fruit surrounds a single hard seed.

Plum has many species, and taxonomists differ on the count. Depending on the taxonomist, between 19 and
40 species of plum exist. From this diversity only two species, the hexaploid European plum (Prunus
domestica) and the diploid Japanese plum (Prunus salicina and hybrids), are of worldwide commercial
significance. The origin of these commercially important species is uncertain but may have involved P.
cerasifera and possibly P. spinosa as ancestors. Other species of plum variously originated in Europe, Asia and
America.[4]
The subgenus Prunus is divided into three sections:
Sect. Prunus (Old World plums)- leaves in bud rolled inwards; flowers 1-3 together; fruit smooth, often
wax-bloomed
P. cerasifera (cherry plum)
P. cocomilia (Italian plum)
P. consociiflora
P. domestica (species of most "plums" and
"prunes")
P. salicina (Japanese plum)

P. domestica ssp. insititia (damsons,

bullaces)
P. simonii (widely cultivated in North
China)[5]
P. spinosa (blackthorn or sloe)

Sect. Prunocerasus (New World plums) - leaves in bud folded inwards; flowers 3-5 together; fruit
smooth, often wax-bloomed
P. alleghaniensis (Allegheny plum)

P. americana (American plum)

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