Both the American and Texas wild plums are small with tasty pulp and astringent skins. It is found in thickets and along woodland edges from Quebec to Manitoba and south to Ohio and Iowa. Larger than New World plums, native damsons have been cultivated since ancient times for fruit, jams, jellies, wines, and dried prunes. It was brought to America long ago and has escaped cultivation and is sometimes found in large stands in the wild. Sloes and greengages are two other European plums sometimes found in the wild as escapees from cultivation.
Greengages have a yellowish-green skin when ripe and are quite sweet.
Closely related to plums and occupying the same genus are cherries. But that is considered another fruit and will be covered separately. Most wild plum trees grow from 5 to 15 feet high and are not particularly attractive. They have twisted, omni-directional branches, often with significant thorns. Many species have a tendency to sprout offspring from their spreading roots, which leads to thick stands of intertwined, thorny branches.