Plums are likely to have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans, with origins inEastern Europe, theCaucasus Mountains andChina. They were brought toBritain from Asia, and their cultivation has been documented inAndalusia, southernSpain. Plums are a diverse group of species, with trees reaching a height of 5–6 metres (16–20 ft) when pruned. The fruit is adrupe, with a firm and juicy flesh. Plums can be eaten fresh, dried to make prunes, used injams, or fermented intowine and distilled intobrandy. Plum seeds (also called kernels) contain thecyanide-like poison,amygdalin, acyanogenic glycoside.
In 2023, China produced 55% of the world total of plums. Japanese or Chinese plums dominate the fresh fruit market, while European plums are also common in some regions.
Plums are likely to have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans.[2] Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found in the wild, only around human settlements:Prunus domestica has been traced to East European and Caucasian mountains, whilePrunus salicina andPrunus simonii originated in China. Plum remains have been found inNeolithic age archaeological sites along with olives, grapes and figs.[3][4] According toKen Albala, plums originated inIran.[5] They were brought to Britain from Asia[dubious –discuss].[6]
An article on plum tree cultivation inAndalusia (southern Spain) appears inIbn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work,Book on Agriculture.[7]
Plum cultivation is recorded in medieval monasteries in England. A garden with 'ploumes' and 'bulaces' is referred to byChaucer.[8]
The cultivation of plums increased during the 17th and 18th centuries. During this periodgreengages were given their English name and theMirabelle plum became firmly established.[8] Advances in the development of new varieties in England were made byThomas Rivers. Two examples of River's work are the varieties Early Rivers and Czar. Both are still esteemed. The fame of theVictoria plum, first sold in 1844, has been put down to good marketing rather than any inherent quality.[8]
The name plum comes fromOld Englishplūme "plum, plum tree", an evolution ofplūmā, which was a commonWest Germanic loanword fromLatinprūnum,[9][10] which borrowed it fromAncient Greekπροῦμνον :proûmnon,[11] itself believed to be aloanword from an unknown language ofAsia Minor.[1][12] In the late 18th century, the wordplum was used to indicate "something sweet or agreeable", probably in reference to tasty fruit pieces indesserts, as in the wordsugar plum.[12]
Plums are a diverse group of species. The commercially important plum trees are medium-sized, usually pruned to 5–6 metres (16–20 ft) height. The tree is of medium hardiness.[13] Without pruning, the trees can reach 12 metres (39 ft) in height and spread across 10 metres (33 ft). They blossom in different months in different parts of the world; for example, in about January in Taiwan and early April in the United Kingdom.[14]
Fruits are usually of medium size, between 2–7 centimetres (0.79–2.76 in) in diameter, globose to oval. The flesh is firm and juicy. The fruit's peel is smooth, with a natural waxy surface that adheres to the flesh. The plum is adrupe, meaning its fleshy fruit surrounds a single hardfruitstone which encloses the fruit's seed.
Japanese or Chinese plums are large and juicy with a long shelf life and therefore dominate the fresh fruit market. They are usually clingstone and not suitable for making prunes.[15] They are cultivars ofPrunus salicina or its hybrids. The cultivars developed in the US are mostly hybrids ofP. salicina withP. simonii andP. cerasifera. Although these cultivars are often called Japanese plums, two of the three parents (P. salicina andP. simonii) originated from China and one (P. cerasifera) from Eurasia.[16]
Prune, a dried plum
In some parts of Europe, European plum (Prunus domestica) is also common in fresh fruit market. It has both dessert (eating) or culinary (cooking)cultivars, which include:
Damson (purple or black skin, green flesh, clingstone, astringent)
Prune plum (usually oval, freestone, sweet, fresh eaten or used to make prunes)
Greengage (firm, green flesh and skin even when ripe)
Mirabelle (dark yellow, predominantly grown in northeastFrance)
Victoria (yellow flesh with a red or mottled skin)
Yellowgage or golden plum (similar to greengage, but yellow)
In West Asia, myrobalan plum or cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera) is also widely cultivated. In Russia, apart from these three commonly cultivated species, there are also many cultivars resulting from hybridization between Japanese plum and myrobalan plum, known as Russian plum (Prunus ×rossica).[17]
When it flowers in the early spring, a plum tree will be covered inblossoms, and in a good year approximately 50% of the flowers will be pollinated and become plums. Flowering starts after 80growing degree days.[18]
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 calledbrown rot. Brown rot is not toxic, and some 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 thelarvae of someLepidoptera, includingNovember moth,willow beauty andshort-cloaked moth.[19]
The taste of the plum fruit ranges from sweet to tart; the skin itself may be particularly tart. It is juicy and can be eaten fresh or used injam-making or other recipes. Plum juice can be fermented intoplum wine. In central England, a cider-like alcoholic beverage known asplum jerkum is made from plums. Dried, salted plums are used as a snack, sometimes known assaladito orsalao.
Various flavors of dried plum are available at Chinese grocers and specialty stores worldwide. They tend to be much drier than the standard prune. Cream,ginseng, spicy, and salty are among the common varieties.Licorice is generally used to intensify the flavor of these plums and is used to make salty plum drinks and toppings forshaved ice orbaobing. Pickled plums are another type of preserve available in Asia and international specialty stores. The Japanese variety, calledumeboshi, is often used for rice balls, calledonigiri oromusubi. Theume, from whichumeboshi are made, is more closely related, however, to theapricot than to the plum.
In theBalkans, plum is converted into an alcoholic drink namedslivovitz (plum brandy, called in Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin or Serbianšljivovica).[21][22] A large number of plums, of the Damson variety, are also grown in Hungary, where they are calledszilva and are used to makelekvar (a plum paste jam),palinka (traditional fruit brandy), plum dumplings, and other foods. In Romania, 80% of the plum production is used to create a similar brandy, calledțuică.[23]
As with many other members of therose family, plum kernels contain cyanogenic glycosides, includingamygdalin.[24] Prune kernel oil is made from the fleshy inner part of the pit of the plum. Though not available commercially, the wood of plum trees is used by hobbyists and other private woodworkers for musical instruments, knife handles, inlays, and similar small projects.[25]
In 2023, world production of plums (data combined withsloes) was 12.5 milliontonnes, led by China with 55% of the total, andRomania andChile as the next largest producers (table).
The numerous species ofPrunus subg.Prunus are classified into many sections, but not all of them are called plums. Plums include species of sect.Prunus and sect.Prunocerasus,[28] as well asP. mume of sect.Armeniaca. Only two plum species, the hexaploid European plum (Prunus domestica) and the diploid Japanese plum (Prunus salicina and hybrids), are of worldwide commercial significance. The origin ofP. domestica is uncertain but may have involvedP. cerasifera and possiblyP. spinosa as ancestors. Other species of plum variously originated in Europe, Asia and America.[29]
Sect.Prunus (Old World plums) – leaves in bud rolled inwards; flowers 1–3 together; fruit smooth, often wax-bloomed
In certain parts of the world, some fruits are called plums and are quite different from fruits known as plums in Europe or the Americas. For example,marian plums are popular in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, otherwise also known asgandaria,plum mango,ma-praang,ma-yong,ramania,kundang,rembunia orsetar.[31] Another example is theloquat, also known as Japanese plum and Japanese medlar, as well asnispero,bibassier andwollmispel elsewhere.[32][33] In South Asia and Southeast Asia,Jambul, a fruit from tropical tree in familyMyrtaceae, is similarly sometimes referred to 'damson plums', and it is different from damson plums found in Europe and Americas.[34] Jambul is also called asJava plum,Malabar plum,Jaman,Jamun,Jamblang,Jiwat,Salam,Duhat,Koeli,Jambuláo orKoriang.
^Spangenberg, et al. (January 2006). "Chemical analyses of organic residues in archaeological pottery from Arbon Bleiche".Journal of Archaeological Science.33 (1):1–13.doi:10.1016/j.jas.2005.05.013.
^Lyle KL (2010) [2004].The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them (2nd ed.). Guilford, CN:FalconGuides. p. 107.ISBN978-1-59921-887-8.OCLC560560606.
^abcDavidson A (2014). Jaine T (ed.).The Oxford companion to food (3. ed. / ed. by Tom Jaine ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.ISBN978-0-19-967733-7.
^Ringe D, Taylor A (2014). "PWGmc *plūmā".The Development of Old English. A Linguistic History of English. Vol. 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 135.ISBN9780199207848.
^Perkins A (2004)."Phenology of flowers"(PDF). Ecologists Educators and Schools. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved21 February 2024.
^Skinner (1984), Chinery (2007), and see references in Savela (2002)
^Jan Velíšek, František Pudil, Jiří Davídek, et al. (1982). "The neutral volatile components of Czechoslovak plum brandy".Zeitschrift für Lebensmittel-Untersuchung und -Forschung A.174 (6):463–466.doi:10.1007/BF01042726.S2CID88247885.
^Bruce L. Topp, Dougal M. Russell, Michael Neumüller, et al. (2012). "Plum".Plum (Handbook of Plant Breeding). Vol. 8, part 3. Springer. pp. 571–621.doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0763-9_15.ISBN9781441907639.
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