How do you recognise Plum (Prunus domestica)?

Leaf

Hinnerk11, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Plum

Prunus domestica L.

Also known as: European plum, Domestic plum

Family: Rosaceae

3 to 8 m tall

Orchards and gardens, sometimes naturalised at woodland edges

Flowering: March – April, before or with the leaves

Full sun

Hardy to about -25°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

The cultivated plum is thought to derive from an ancient natural cross between the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) and the cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera). The blackthorn has much smaller, astringent fruits, and thorny twigs; the cultivated plum has none.

🍃 Leaves

Elliptic to obovate, toothed, slightly downy beneath

🌸 Flowers

White, solitary or in groups of 2-3, appearing early in spring

🍎 Fruits

Fleshy drupe (plum), purple, yellow or red depending on variety, with a flattened stone

🪵 Bark

Greyish to dark brown, cracking into scales

🗺️ Distribution

Cultivated throughout France; derived from an ancient cross between the blackthorn and the cherry plum

🐝 Value for pollinators

Early flowering rich in nectar, appreciated by bees

✂️ Horticultural uses

Orchard fruit tree, many varieties (damsons, greengages, mirabelle plums)

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Fruit flesh edible; the stone, leaves and bark contain amygdalin (a cyanide precursor), toxic in large quantities

⚠️ Look-alike species

Plum

Prunus domestica

Blackthorn

Prunus spinosa

The blackthorn has much smaller, astringent fruits, and thorny twigs; the cultivated plum has none.

Plum

Prunus domestica

Japanese plum

Prunus salicina

Two 'plum trees' with fruits of very variable colour (yellow, red, purple depending on variety), easily confused by a beginner. The plum has a stone that separates easily from the flesh, whereas the Japanese plum flowers earlier and more abundantly (often from March before the leaves, flowers in groups of 2-3) and produces generally larger, rounder and firmer fruits, with a clinging stone.

🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.