Castle Howard Arboretum Trust - Furniture Makers Trees

Botanical name: Prunus domestica

Family: Rosaceae

Common Name: Plum

Habitat and Distribution:

Probably a hybrid between P. cerasifera ssp. Divaricata, the Cherry Plum and P. spinosa, the Blackthorn or Sloe, similar plants occur in the Caucasus and similar areas where the parent species overlap. Long grown in England, most orchards are in warm but relatively humid areas.

Description:

A deciduous tree to 12 metres, (40 ft), with short pointed, blunt toothed leaves which are dark green above and downy beneath. White flowers are borne in spring, these may be single or in clusters of 3 or more. The flowers are followed by rounded fleshy, edible fruits, up to 5 cm, which may be green, yellow, purple or red.

Timber:

The wood is hard and rich red-brown in colour.

Uses:

The wood is used mainly for small marquetry, including Tunbridgeware and as a contrasting veneer. Burl timber valued for turning.

Plum fruit is sweet, juicy and edible, and it can be eaten fresh or used in jam-making or other recipes.

Plum juice can be fermented into plum wine; when distilled, this produces a brandy known in Eastern Europe as Slivovitz.

Dried plums are known as prunes. Prunes are sweet and juicy, and they have a very high dietary fibre content, so prune juice is often used to help regulate the functioning of the digestive system. It also contains several antioxidants that may slow aging.

Prune kernel oil is made from the fleshy inner part of the pit of the plum, it is considered to be a gourmet oil with a delicate almondy, marzipan taste and aroma.

Plum blossom, along with the peony flower, are considered traditional floral emblems of China.