Plum

A plum is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished

from other subgenera (peaches, cherries, bird cherries, etc) in the shoots having a terminal bud

and the side buds solitary (not clustered), the flowers being grouped 1-5 together on short stems,

and the fruit having a groove running down one side, and a smooth stone. The subgenus is divided

into three sections:

Sect. Prunus (Old World plums). Leaves in bud rolled inwards; flowers 1-3 together; fruit smooth,

often wax-bloomed. Species: P. cerasifera, P. cocomilia, P. consociiflora, P. domestica, P.

salicina, P. simonii, P. spinosa.

Sect. Prunocerasus (New World plums). Leaves in bud folded inwards; flowers 3-5 together; fruit

smooth, often wax-bloomed. Species: P. alleghaniensis, P. americana, P. angustifolia, P. hortulana,

P. maritima, P. mexicana, P. nigra, P. orthosepala, P. subcordata.

Sect. Armeniaca (Apricots). Leaves in bud rolled inwards; flowers very short-stalked; fruit

velvety. Treated as a distinct subgenus by some authors. Species: P. armeniaca, P. brigantina, P.

mume, P. sibirica.

Plum fruit is sweet, juicy and edible, and it can be eaten fresh or used in jam-making or

other recipes. Plum juice can be fermented into plum wine; when distilled, this produces a brandy

known in Eastern Europe as Slivovitz. Dried plums are known as prunes. Prunes are sweet and juicy,

and they have a very high dietary fiber content, so prune juice is often used to help regulate the

functioning of the digestive system. It also contains several antioxidants that may slow aging.

Prune marketers in the United States have, in recent years, begun marketing their product as "dried

plums", because "prunes" has negative connotations of being unappetizing, and suitable only for the

elderly.

Prune kernel oil is made from the fleshy inner part of the pit of the plum.

Plums come in a wide variety of colours and sizes. Some are much firmer-fleshed than others

and some have yellow, white, green or red flesh, with equally varying skin colour.

Plum cultivars in use today include:

Damson, or Damask Plum

Greengage, or greengage plum (firm, green flesh and skin even when ripe)

Mirabelle (a dark yellow plum predominantely grown in France)

Satsuma plum (firm red flesh with a red skin)

Golden or yellowgage plum (like the greengage, but yellow)

When it flowers in the early spring, a plum tree will be covered in blossom, and in a good

year approximately 50% of the flowers will be pollinated and become plums. Flowering starts after

80 growing degree days.

If the weather is too dry the plums will not develop past a certain stage, but will fall

from the tree while still tiny green buds, and if it is unseasonably wet or if the plums are not

harvested as soon as they are ripe, the fruit may develop a fungal condition called brown rot.

Brown rot is not toxic, and very small affected areas can be cut out of the fruit, but unless the

rot is caught immediately the fruit will no longer be edible. Plum is used as a food plant by the

larvae of some Lepidoptera including November Moth, Willow Beauty and Short-cloaked Moth.

Check out the following recipes that are tagged "Plum":
Our Family's Plum Pudding 1992, II/II, Cold-Weather Chili, Jalapeno Chili, Uno's Pizzeria Recipe, Plum Tuna, Plum Mousse, Minestrone(Pressure Cooked), Neapolitan Mushroom Soup, Rice And Endive Soup, Triple Tomato, Baja Seafood Stew, Spring Rolls, Plum-Teri Turkey, Barbecued Swordfish With Black Olive-Cucumber, Plum Bread, Barbequed Swordfish with Black Olive-Cucumber Salad, Frozen Plum Yogurt, Wholesome Brisket With Roasted Vegetables, Plum Pierogi, Plum Or Apricot Tea Cake, Chilli Plum Beef, Chicken With Plum Sauce, Knegli(Plum Dumplings), Plum Torte Kh, Rose Petal& Lavender Angel Food Cake, Fruchtknoedel (fruit Dumplings), Red-Plum Spice Cake II, Baked Spring Rolls, Red-Plum Spice Cake, Spicy Plum Sauce, Bay Scallop Seviche, Cherry-Plum Slump, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Oven-Dried Tomatoes, Oven-Dried Tomatoes, Pressure Cooked Grain Salad with Plum Vinaigrette, Sauteed Shrimp& Prawns With Spicy Plum Sauce, Info Plum, Peach Cobbler, Ben& Jerry's Plum Ice Cream, Suzy's Honey Plum Bbq Sauce, Green Beans With Onion, Garlic, And Tomato, Steamed Salmon Sauce, Spicy Tomato Sauce, Pickled Plums, Plum Barbecue Sauce, Plum Sauce B1, Plum Sauce For Plum Rolls, Plum Tomato Sauce With Portabella Mushrooms, Pomarola (Pummarola)