Tree Description:
A small tree to 25 feet tall and a short trunk 8" to 10" in diameter, with a short, irregular crown of dull green foliage.
Range/Site Description:
In East and Central Texas, on moist slopes, creek bottoms, fencerows, and canyons, usually as a solitary tree. Also planted widely in Texas as a landscape tree.
Leaf:
Simple, alternate, 2" to 4" long and 1.5" to 3" wide, oval, often cupped at the edges, abruptly pointed at the tip and rounded at the base, and finely toothed (sometimes double-toothed) along the margin. The upper surface is smooth, thickened, and textured, yellow-green; lower surface lighter, hairy along the veins; leaves turn yellow or sometimes red in the fall.
Flower:
Numerous clusters of white, five-petaled flowers, 0.75" in diameter, appear in March before the leaves.
Fruit:
A plum (actually a drupe) that ripens in late summer, 1.25" in diameter, dark purple-red with a bluish "bloom", with a smooth stone 0.75" long under the juicy flesh.
Bark:
Dark gray to nearly black, smooth when young with horizontal lenticels, developing broad plates with curled edges when older.
Wood:
Fruits are used to make jams and jellies. Widely available as a drought-hardy landscape tree in commercial nurseries.
Similar Species:
Flatwoods plum (Prunus umbellata) has smaller fruits and is found along sandy riverbottoms in East Texas.
Interesting Facts:
Mexican plum is usually the first tree to flower in March, marking the end of winter in Texas.
