The New Student's Reference Work/Plum

Plum, certain species of the genus Prunus to which also belong the peaches and cherries. In the plum the flowers occur in umbel-like clusters and appear either before or with leaves. The fruit is a drupe or stone fruit, as in the case of peaches and cherries. The most common plum of cultivation is P. domestica, which probably is of Asiatic origin. Its fruits have been made to vary exceedingly as to shape and flavor. The common wild plum of the United States is P. Americana, with dull yellow fruit, splashed with spots of red, which is also under cultivation. The wild goose-plum is P. hortulana, with many varieties under cultivation. It is found wild in the Mississippi valley.