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Tuesday - November 28, 2006

From: DALLAS, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Flowering and fruting of Texas wild plums and where they grow
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Could you please tell me about Texas wild plum trees—when they flower, when they bear fruit and where they grow.

ANSWER:

There are ten different species of native wild plums that occur in Texas. All of the plums bloom in the spring and produce fruit in the summer. Six of these are found in or very near Dallas County. These six are:

Mexican or Bigtree Plum (Prunus mexicana)—blooms February-April; fruiting in July-September
Chicasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia)—blooms February-May; fruiting in August-September
Creek Plum or Hog Plum (Prunus rivularis)—blooms March; fruiting July-September
Flatwoods Plum (Prunus umbellata)—blooms March-April; fruiting in July-August
Oklahoma Plum (Prunus gracilis)—blooms March-May; fruiting in June-August
Munson Plum (Prunus munsoniana)—blooms March; fruiting in summer

There are four species of plums that grow south and/or west of Dallas County in Texas. These are:
Murray Plum (Prunus murrayana)—blooms March-April; fruiting time unknown; found in Davis Mountains of the Trans-Pecos in Jeff Davis County; very rare
Dwarf Plum or Texas Almond (Prunus minutiflora)—blooms March; fruiting in June; found in Edwards Plateau and Rio Grande Plains
Sand Plum or Texas Plum (Prunus texana)—blooms February-May; fruiting in June; found in Edwards Plateau and Rio Grande Plains
Havard's Plum (Prunus havardii)—blooms in spring; fruiting in July; found in Trans-Pecos area

 

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