By Heather N. Kolich, CEC & ANR Agent, UGA Extension Forsyth County, March 2022
Did you know that Georgia is home to several species of native trees that produce edible fruit? Chickasaw plums and American plums are two examples of fruit that we can still harvest from the wild. They also have a place in the natural history of North America.
Habitat and Identification
Wild plum trees grow in sunny, open areas like pastures and prairies, roadsides and fence rows, and at the edges of woodlands. These small, shrubby, deciduous trees are early bloomers, an important feature of identification. Flowering can begin as early as February and may continue through April or May. The 5-petaled, white flowers are small, abundant, and fragrant. Other identifying features include thorny branches; smooth bark with numerous lenticels – pale, raised scar-like features – on young trees; and narrow, pointed leaves with serrated edges. The plums are small, grape or cherry-sized drupes, a fleshy fruit with thin skin and a single pit. They ripen throughout the summer in colors ranging from yellow to red. Ripe wild plums have a white bloom on the outer skin.
Place in Nature
The range of American and Chickasaw plums includes much of the Eastern and Central United States and parts of Canada. The distribution is believed to have been expanded by Native American cultivation of wild plums. Reports of groves of wild plums show up in writings of several frontier explorers. Because wild plums form thickets, they provide shelter and habitat for several species of songbirds and small mammals. Eastern tiger swallowtails, the official butterfly of Georgia, coral hairstreaks, and other butterflies rely on wild plums as larval
host plants. The fruit nourishes white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, and other game animals.
Wild plums spread through suckering; they put up shoots from the root system to produce new plants. This growth characteristic makes wild plums valuable for soil conservation projects.
Harvesting and Using Wild Plums
Wild plums are a tasty and nutritious food source for people as well as wildlife. Although smaller than cultivated plums, wild plums can be eaten fresh, made into jelly and wine, and used in recipes that feature plums.
When harvesting fruit from the wild, some precautions and environmental considerations are recommended.
- Get permission. Some state or federal lands may require a permit to harvest certain types of wild plants. If harvesting on private land, get the landowner’s permission. Avoid trespassing.
- Wear protective clothing suitable for wading through heavy vegetation where snakes, poison ivy, biting insects, and other hazards may be present.
- Take a buddy.
- Harvest carefully to avoid damaging the fruiting plant and its supporting environment.
- Harvest only what you can use.
- Leave plenty of fruit and seeds for the wildlife that depend on them, as well as for reseeding to produce new plants.
More Information
Wild plums can be an enjoyable addition to our diets and landscapes. As small, flowering trees, American and Chickasaw plums are more suitable edible landscape trees for small lots than other types of cultivated fruit trees that grow large. For more information on propagating wild plums, safe handling and storing harvested plums, and recipes, see UGA Publication WSFNR-21-81A, Wild Harvesting American Plum and Chickasaw Plum.