Fruit tree

European plum

Prunus domestica

🌷 Fruit treeIntroduced in the lower 48

European plum is a popular fruit tree. It's on our flower lists for 40 states.

23states

40of our state lists

211U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 23, 2026. Planted garden trees are mostly excluded from research grade.

On our lists for: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin

Quick look

Prunus domestica is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. A deciduous tree, it includes many varieties of the fruit trees known as plums in English, though not all plums belong to this species. The greengages and damsons also belong to subspecies of P. domestica.
From Wikipedia's article Prunus domestica, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Rosaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as a tree with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as introduced in the lower 48 states and records it in 23 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
iNaturalist has 51 research-grade sightings of it in Oregon, ranking #114 among the 184 flowers on our Oregon list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 38 research-grade sightings of it in Washington, ranking #114 among the 187 flowers on our Washington list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 26 research-grade sightings of it in California, ranking #116 among the 178 flowers on our California list. ^iNaturalist

European plum gift ideas

Handmade european plum gifts from independent makers.

🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.

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European plum art print
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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (3 records)

Bloom time in each of our 40 states

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Oregon	🌷 Garden	few records	51
Washington	🌷 Garden	few records	38
California	🌷 Garden	few records	26
Utah	🌷 Garden	few records	23
Colorado	🌷 Garden	few records	8
New York	🌷 Garden	few records	7
Ohio	🌷 Garden	few records	6
Idaho	🌷 Garden	few records	5
Massachusetts	🌷 Garden	few records	4
Minnesota	🌷 Garden	few records	4
Missouri	🌷 Garden	few records	4
New Mexico	🌷 Garden	few records	4
Pennsylvania	🌷 Garden	few records	4
Maine	🌷 Garden	few records	3
Arizona	🌷 Garden	few records	2
North Carolina	🌷 Garden	few records	2
Texas	🌷 Garden	few records	2
Vermont	🌷 Garden	few records	2
Wisconsin	🌷 Garden	few records	2
New Hampshire	🌷 Garden	few records	1
Georgia	🌷 Garden	few records	1
Indiana	🌷 Garden	few records	1
Louisiana	🌷 Garden	few records	1
Michigan	🌷 Garden	few records	1
Mississippi	🌷 Garden	few records	1
Montana	🌷 Garden	few records	1
Oklahoma	🌷 Garden	few records	1
South Carolina	🌷 Garden	few records	1
Tennessee	🌷 Garden	few records	1
Virginia	🌷 Garden	few records	1
Connecticut	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Florida	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Iowa	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Illinois	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Kansas	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Kentucky	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Maryland	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Nebraska	🌷 Garden	few records	0
New Jersey	🌷 Garden	few records	0
South Dakota	🌷 Garden	few records	0

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: GNR Not yet ranked worldwide. ^NatureServe
Oregon: Not listed Not on Oregon endangered and threatened plants (OAR 603-073-0070). NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Oregon. ^{OAR 603-073-0070}
Washington: No list Washington has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants (the Washington Natural Heritage Program's rare plant list isn't regulatory), so we show NatureServe's Washington ranks instead. NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Washington.
California: Not listed Not on California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026). NatureServe has no California rank for it. ^{CNDDB listed plants (July 2026)}
Utah: No list Utah has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Utah ranks instead. NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Utah.
Colorado: No list Colorado has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Colorado ranks instead. NatureServe has no Colorado rank for it.
New York: Not listed Not on New York protected native plants (6 NYCRR § 193.3). NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in New York. ^{6 NYCRR § 193.3}
Ohio: Not listed Not on Ohio endangered and threatened plants (Ohio Adm. Code 1501:18-1-03, eff. Dec. 26, 2024). NatureServe has no Ohio rank for it. ^{OAC 1501:18-1-03}
Idaho: No list Idaho has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Idaho ranks instead. NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Idaho.
Massachusetts: Not listed Not on Massachusetts Endangered Species Act list (321 CMR 10.90). NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Massachusetts. ^{MESA list}
Minnesota: Not listed Not on Minnesota endangered, threatened and special concern plants (Minn. R. 6134.0300). NatureServe has no Minnesota rank for it. ^{Minn. R. 6134.0300}
Missouri: Not listed Not on Missouri Wildlife Code endangered species (3 CSR 10-4.111), plants. NatureServe has no Missouri rank for it. ^{3 CSR 10-4.111}
New Mexico: Not listed Not on New Mexico state endangered plant species (19.21.2.9 NMAC). NatureServe has no New Mexico rank for it. ^{19.21.2.9 NMAC}
Pennsylvania: Not listed Not on Pennsylvania classified native plants (17 Pa. Code Ch. 45, Subchapter B, as amended 2023). NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Pennsylvania. ^{17 Pa. Code Ch. 45}
Maine: Not listed Not on Maine Rare Plant List (Maine Natural Areas Program, 2021). E and T are Maine's official endangered and threatened plants (12 M.R.S.); SC and PE are tracking categories. NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Maine. ^{Maine rare plant list}
Arizona: Not listed Not on Arizona Native Plant Law protected plants (Ariz. Admin. Code R3-3 Art. 11, App. A, eff. Feb. 2, 2025). NatureServe has no Arizona rank for it. ^{AAC R3-3 App. A}
North Carolina: Not listed Not on North Carolina Protected Plant Species List (02 NCAC 48F .0301). NatureServe has no North Carolina rank for it. ^{02 NCAC 48F .0301}
Texas: Not listed Not on Texas endangered and threatened plants (31 Tex. Admin. Code § 69.8), as listed by Texas Parks and Wildlife. NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Texas. ^{31 TAC 69.8}
Vermont: Not listed Not on Endangered and Threatened Plants of Vermont (10 V.S.A. chap. 123; list of Feb 10, 2022). NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Vermont. ^{Vermont E&T list}
Wisconsin: Not listed Not on Wisconsin endangered and threatened species list (Wis. Admin. Code NR 27.03). NatureServe has no Wisconsin rank for it. ^{NR 27.03}
New Hampshire: Not listed Not on New Hampshire Official Rare Plants List (Ncr 312, eff. Jan 1, 2020). NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in New Hampshire. ^{NH Ncr 312}
Georgia: Not listed Not on Georgia protected plants (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-10-.09; a 2026 update is proposed). NatureServe has no Georgia rank for it. ^{Ga. R. 391-4-10-.09}
Indiana: No list Indiana has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants (the DNR keeps a rare plant list, but it isn't regulatory), so we show NatureServe's Indiana ranks instead. NatureServe has no Indiana rank for it.
Louisiana: No list Louisiana has no state list of endangered or threatened plants separate from the federal list, so we show federal status and NatureServe's Louisiana ranks. NatureServe has no Louisiana rank for it.
Michigan: Not listed Not on Michigan endangered and threatened plants (Mich. Admin. Code R 299.1028, eff. March 20, 2023). NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Michigan. ^{R 299.1028}
Mississippi: No list Mississippi has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Mississippi ranks instead. NatureServe has no Mississippi rank for it.
Montana: No list Montana has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Montana ranks instead. NatureServe has no Montana rank for it.
Oklahoma: No list Oklahoma has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Oklahoma ranks instead. NatureServe has no Oklahoma rank for it.
South Carolina: No list South Carolina has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's South Carolina ranks instead. NatureServe has no South Carolina rank for it.
Tennessee: Not listed Not on Tennessee endangered plants (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-06-02-.04, Rare Plant Protection and Conservation Act). NatureServe has no Tennessee rank for it. ^{TN rule 0400-06-02-.04}
Virginia: Not listed Not on Virginia endangered and threatened plant and insect species (2VAC5-320-10). NatureServe has no Virginia rank for it. ^2VAC5-320-10
Connecticut: Not listed Not on Connecticut Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Plants (RCSA 26-306; 2015 list). NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Connecticut. ^{CT E/T/SC list}
Florida: Not listed Not on Florida Regulated Plant Index (Fla. Admin. Code 5B-40.0055). NatureServe has no Florida rank for it. ^{FAC 5B-40.0055}
Iowa: Not listed Not on Iowa endangered, threatened and special concern plants (Iowa Admin. Code r. 571-77.3). NatureServe has no Iowa rank for it. ^{IAC 571-77.3}
Illinois: Not listed Not on Illinois List of Endangered and Threatened Flora (17 Ill. Adm. Code 1050), per the Endangered Species Protection Board's 2025 checklist. NatureServe has no Illinois rank for it. ^{IL E&T checklist 2025}
Kansas: No list Kansas's endangered and threatened list (K.A.R. 115-15-1) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's Kansas ranks for plants. NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Kansas.
Kentucky: Not listed Not on Kentucky endangered and threatened plant lists (400 KAR 3:040, eff. 2026). NatureServe has no Kentucky rank for it. ^{400 KAR 3:040}
Maryland: Not listed Not on Maryland threatened and endangered plants (COMAR 08.03.08.05, .06 and .08). NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Maryland. ^{COMAR 08.03.08}
Nebraska: Not listed Not on Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004). NatureServe has no Nebraska rank for it. ^{163 NAC 4-004}
New Jersey: Not listed Not on New Jersey Endangered Plant Species List (N.J.A.C. 7:5C-5.1). NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in New Jersey. ^{N.J.A.C. 7:5C-5.1}
South Dakota: No list South Dakota's endangered and threatened list (ARSD 41:10:02) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's South Dakota ranks for plants. NatureServe has no South Dakota rank for it.
Rare elsewhere: No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 23, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleEdible (per NC State Extension)

NC State Extension notes: “Fruits are dried to make plums. They can also be eaten raw or cooked.” ^{NC State Extension}

For petsToxic to dogs, cats and horses

ASPCA's entry “Plum” (Prunus domestica) lists it as toxic to dogs, cats and horses. Signs include: Stems, leaves, seeds contain cyanide, particularly toxic in the process of wilting: brick red mucous membranes, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, panting… ^ASPCA

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records European plum in 23 states.

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recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

California, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington.

Oregon counties with USDA records: Benton, Douglas, Hood River, Lane, Linn, Marion, Washington.

Washington counties with USDA records: Benton, Garfield, Mason, San Juan, Thurston, Walla Walla.

California counties with USDA records: Sonoma.