Canada plum

Leaves

Form

• Broadly oval to widest above the middle
• Narrowing abruptly to a long, slender tip
• Base widely wedge-shaped, rounded or heart-shaped
• Thin, fragile
• Midvein prominent
• Lateral veins slender

Length

• 6–12 cm

Colour

• Upper surface dull dark green
• Lower surface slightly paler

Margin

• Double-toothed
• Teeth prominent, rounded, the smaller ones usually gland-tipped

Petiole

• Stout with large, dark glands

Buds

Form

• Appressed against the twig
• Scale tips thin, frayed

Length

• 4–8 mm

Colour

• Greyish-brown
• Scale tips pale

Twigs

Form

• Slender, smooth
• Shorter shoots often end in a thorn
• May bear leaves and flowers
• Bitter almond flavour

Colour

• Reddish-brown

Flowers

Form

• Showy, fragrant
• On short, slender stalk
• In small clusters (umbels) of 2–4 flowers on previous year’s twigs

Width

• 15–25 mm

Colour

• White turning pink
• Stalk reddish

Structure

• Synoecious

Floral timing

• At the same time or just before the new leaves appear

Fruits

Form

• Somewhat elongated
• Skin thick, not powdery
• Flesh juicy, sour

Length

• 25–30 mm

Colour

• Skin red, orange-red or yellow
• Flesh yellow

Timing

• Ripen from mid-August to early September

Bark

Form

• Slightly elongated lenticels
• With age splitting vertically, the 2 separated parts curling back slightly to reveal the inner bark
• Gradually becoming scaly

Colour

• Black
• Lenticels greyish

Size

Height

• To 9 m

Diameter

• To 25 cm

Tree form

Open-grown

Trunk

• Short, crooked
• Often divided about a metre above the ground into several stiff, upright, crooked branches

Crown

• Irregular, flat-topped

Habitat

Site

• River valleys, pastures, and along fencerows, especially on lime soils
• Widely scattered individual trees

Range

Southern parts of eastern Canada