Plum | Description, Uses, Cultivation, History, & Facts - Britannica

Home » What Does Plum Tree Look Like » Plum | Description, Uses, Cultivation, History, & Facts - Britannica

Maybe your like

Physical description

Taxonomy
  • Kingdom: Plantae
  • Clade: Angiosperm
  • Order: Rosales
  • Family: Rosaceae
  • Genus: Prunus

See also list of plants in the family Rosaceae

Trees of some plum species reach a height from 6 to 10 meters (20 to 33 feet), while others are much smaller; some species are small shrubs with drooping branches. The flower buds on most varieties are borne on short spurs or along the terminal shoots of the main branches. Each bud may contain from one to five flowers, two or three being most common, and often give an appearance of densely packed, showy flower clusters when the trees are in full bloom. Each flower features a hollow cuplike structure known as the hypanthium, which bears the sepals, petals, and stamens on the outer rim and surrounds a single pistil. After fertilization the hypanthium and its attachments fall off, leaving the ovary to develop into a drupe fruit. As the fruit grows, the outer part ripens into a fleshy juicy exterior, and the inner part forms the stone, or pit, which encloses the seed. The fruits show a wide range of size, flavor, color, and texture. As trees come into bearing, they do not require much pruning and can be grown satisfactorily in a home fruit garden if diseases and pests are controlled.

Related Topics: black knot plum brandy Japanese plum common European plum Damson plum (Show more) On the Web: University of Georgia Extension - CAES Field Report - Home Garden Plums (Feb. 12, 2026) (Show more) See all related content Chef tossing vegetables in a frying pan over a burner (skillet, food). Britannica Quiz What’s on the Menu? Vocabulary Quiz

Tag » What Does Plum Tree Look Like