Prunus angustifolia ~ Chickasaw Plum

Edibility

Chickasaw plum taste can vary much between individuals and populations, from bitter to sour to sweet! There are several great ways to use this wild food.

Nutrition

per 100g:

• 90 calories

• 10g sugar

• 5g fiber

• <1g protein/fat

• 365 mg K plus: calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, Vitamin C

Processing

Chickasaw plum is a wild food that does really well with a standard food processor. The blade will separate the fruit from the seeds without damaging the seeds themselves. These can be used to grow more Chickasaw plums!

If you pass everything through a strainer, you'll catch the skins and seeds, and the pulp will cleanly pass through. From that point, you can use my "water-swirl" method to separate the skins from the seeds further. The skins can be used in wild plum vinegar if desired, but sometimes they are slightly bitter, so test first.

The fruit pulp can be used for various things like wild plum fruit leather, jam, or wine!

Wild Plum Vinegar

For any plums that have overripened (but aren't rotten), you can blend them all down, remove the seeds, and then have them ferment into a delicious plum vinegar!

Wild Plum Umeboshi

This is a preparation that comes from Japan and is typically used with a very different kind of plum, the "Ume" plum, which is actually more closely related to apricot.

I attempted to make umeboshi with my wild Chickasaw plums, and it turned out pretty well! Imagine a salty, sour, and savory plum experience. That's what you get with this method!

Ecology

Chickasaw plum is an incredible resource on a landscape for both biotic and biotic reasons.

Insects

The tree is a host for numerous moths and butterflies. Some notable ones include hummingbird clearwing moth and tiger swallowtail.@societyGardeningButterfliesHow2016

Abiotic

In addition, it can tolerate most alkaline soils and stabilize sandy, erosion-prone areas like stream banks!

Birds

There is anecdotal evidence of avian species like: Colinus virginianus - Bobwhite Quail, cat birds, vireos, and more nesting in the branches.

Provides important cover and habitat for Tympanuchus pallidicinctus - Lesser Prairie Chicken

Etymology

Angustifolia refers to the narrow shape of the leaves.

Human Interaction

Chickasaw plum has long been a cultivated species by Native Americans, which may have contributed to their spread.

William Bartram wrote this of his travels through the Southeast, that "he never saw the Chickasaw plum wild in the forests but always in old deserted Indian plantations." So, it's hypothesized that this fruit was brought across the Mississippi through human means.

The original range is believed to be from Oklahoma to Central Texas.

Habitat

Chickasaw plum forms dense thickets. I have found it almost exclusively at roadside clearings and forest edges. It really should have as much sun as possible.

Unfortunately, due to poor habitat management that only favors dense, overcrowded, closed-canopy forests, along with mowing, viable habitat for this species shrinks more and more!

Identification

Winter Characteristics

• Bark: Young bark, relatively smooth, with long, light-colored lenticels stretched horizontally. Bark develops shallow cracks and gets rough and flaky with age.

• Buds: Most are small, magnification needed for proper observation. Overlapping red-brown bud scales, often with patches of fine white hairs.

• Leaf Scar: Exceedingly small and narrow, difficult to observe. May contain three bundle scars, but not easy to count.

• Twigs: Overall maroon color with light-colored lenticels. Often growing as sharp spur branchlets with clusters of buds at the ends. Twigs usually found with a gray "bloom" coating.

• Growth Habit: Shrubby, forms dense thickets. Usually growing 6-10ft in height (up to 20ft) with a diameter of 3-6 inches (up to 10 inches).

• Remarks: Most of the characteristics apply to American Plum (Prunus americana) as well. Chickasaw plum flowers and fruits early in the season so it pays to recognize and scout it in winter.

• Similar Species: Black cherry (Prunus serotina) and Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) can both look similar but have larger buds and twigs that release a strong "bitter-almond" aroma when scratched.

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