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Prunus americana

Marsh.

American Plum

G5Secure Found in 15 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.161452
Element CodePDROS1C020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderRosales
FamilyRosaceae
GenusPrunus
Other Common Names
American plum (EN) Prunier d'Amérique (FR)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-06-25
Change Date1984-08-28
Edition Date2025-06-25
Edition AuthorsN. Ventrella (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Prunus americana is a tree or shrub occurring in thickets, roadsides, fencerows, wood margins, and stream banks of North America, from Saskatchewan east to New Brunswick, Canada, south through Florida, west to Arizona (though not found in Texas), and North to Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. There are over 1,000 estimated occurrences of this taxon rangewide, which are potentially threatened by development, rights-of-way construction and maintenance, invasive species, and other threats in some places. Little is known about threats and trends, but with a large range extent, high number of occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, Prunus americana is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
The native range of Prunus americana is in North America, from Saskatchewan east to New Brunswick, Canada, south through Florida, west to Arizona (though not found in Texas), and north to Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon in the United States (FNA 2014, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025). The range extent was estimated to be over 7 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations collected between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025, there are estimated to be over 1,000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025). However, this taxon is commonly cultivated, and iNaturalist observations (>11,000) were not evaluated for evidence of cultivation (iNaturalist 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Prunus americana is potentially threatened by development, rights-of-way construction and maintenance, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, tolerance of light disturbance, and affinity for typically abundant habitats, as well as no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Prunus americana occurs in "thickets, moist soil, roadsides, fence rows, margins of woods, [and] stream banks" from 10-2100 m in elevation (FNA 2014).

Reproduction

Prunus americana produces flowers from April through June and fruits from July through September (FNA 2014).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest Edge
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN4
ProvinceRankNative
ManitobaS3Yes
SaskatchewanS2Yes
New BrunswickSNANo
QuebecSNANo
OntarioS4Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
TennesseeSNRYes
MississippiSNRYes
North CarolinaS3Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
South CarolinaS3Yes
KansasS5Yes
VirginiaS4Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
IndianaSNRYes
North DakotaSNRYes
OregonSNRYes
ArkansasS1Yes
IowaS5Yes
MaineSNANo
New YorkS3Yes
OhioSNRYes
IllinoisSNRYes
VermontS1Yes
New HampshireSNANo
LouisianaSNRYes
South DakotaSNRYes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
New JerseyS4Yes
KentuckyS5Yes
ArizonaSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
West VirginiaS5Yes
GeorgiaSNRYes
WashingtonSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
ColoradoS4Yes
MontanaS4Yes
New MexicoSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
DelawareSUYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
WyomingS3Yes
MarylandSNRYes
NebraskaSNRYes
UtahSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
FloridaSNRYes
IdahoSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL, DECIDUOUS
Economic Value (Genus)Yes
Roadless Areas (15)
Arizona (1)
AreaForestAcres
Lower San FranciscoApache-Sitgreaves National Forests59,310
New Mexico (2)
AreaForestAcres
Juan de Gabaldon GrantSanta Fe National Forest8,023
Lower San FranciscoGila National Forest26,460
North Dakota (1)
AreaForestAcres
MagpieDakota Prairie Grasslands21,281
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Flint Mill GapCherokee National Forest9,494
Utah (6)
AreaForestAcres
418015Uinta National Forest17,289
418016Uinta National Forest35,240
Clarkston Mtn.Caribou National Forest7,099
Right Hand Fork LoganWasatch-Cache National Forest15,023
Temple PeakWasatch-Cache National Forest24,081
WellsvilleWasatch-Cache National Forest1,717
Virginia (3)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekJefferson National Forest18,274
Elliott KnobGeorge Washington National Forest9,380
Mottesheard (VA)Jefferson National Forest2,596
West Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little MountainMonongahela National Forest8,172
References (10)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2014b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 9. Magnoliophyta: Picramniaceae to Rosaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 713 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  3. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. Khoury, C. K., S. Greene, J. Wiersema, N. Maxted, A. Jarvis, and P. C. Struik. 2013. An inventory of crop wild relatives of the United States. Crop Science 53(4):1496-1508.
  6. Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. 375 pp.
  7. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  8. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).
  9. USDA Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS). 2020. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Ag Data Commons. <a href="https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1212393">https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1212393</a>. (accessed 2020).
  10. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2025. Flora of the southeastern United States Web App. Edition of February 18, 2025. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Online. Available: https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu (accessed 2025).