Plum

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Plum

A Plum tree (gage) is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera (peaches, cherries, bird cherries, etc.) in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds (not clustered), the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one side and a smooth stone (or pit).
The subgenus Prunus is divided into three sections:
- sect. Prunus (Old World plums)- leaves in bud rolled inwards; flowers 1-3 together; fruit smooth, often wax-bloomed;
- sect. Prunocerasus (New World plums) - leaves in bud folded inwards; flowers 3-5 together; fruit smooth, often wax-bloomed;
- sect. Armeniaca (apricots) - leaves in bud rolled inwards; flowers very short-stalked; fruit velvety; treated as a distinct subgenus by some authors.