McMurray, N. 1987. 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 species can also be successfully propagated via stem cuttings. American plum is a commonly cultivated fruit plant thoughout its range. A number of horticultural varieties have been derived from this native plum.
American plum is a native, deciduous, sometimes thicket-forming, erect shrub or small tree.
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. Although this species sometimes produces small, hard plums, the fruits are generally fleshy and highly palatable. Occassionally trees cultivated for plums escape and persist. 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.