(botany) Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Prunus that bear smooth-skinned, globular to oval, drupaceous stone fruit.
(geology) A clast embedded in a matrix of a different kind, especially a pebble in a conglomerate.
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Any of the smooth-skinned stone fruits grown on shrubs or small trees. Plums are widely distributed in all land areas of the North Temperate Zone, where many species and varieties are adapted to different climatic and soil conditions.
There are four principal groups: (1) Domestica (Prunus domestica) of European or Southwest Asian origin, (2) Japanese or Salicina (P. salicina) of Chinese origin, (3) Insititia or Damson (P. insititia) of Eurasian origin, and (4) American (P. americana and P. hortulana). The Domesticas are large, meaty, prune-type plums. A prune is a plum which dries without spoiling.
Fruit of numerous species of Prunus. Common European plums are P. domestica; blackthorn or sloe is P. spinosa; bullace is P. insititia; damson is P. damascena; gages are P. italica; beach plum is a wild plum, Prunus maritime. The UK National Fruit Collection contains 336 varieties of plum. A 200-g portion of dessert plums (four medium-size fruits weighed without stones) is a source of vitamin C; provides 3 g of dietary fibre; supplies 100 kcal (420 kJ).
There are hundreds of plum varieties cultivated throughout the world. All grow in clusters, have smooth, deeply colored skin and a center pit. Plums can range in shape from oval to round and in size from 1 to 3 inches in diameter. Their color can be yellow, green, red, purple, indigo blue and almost anything in between. The pale silvery-gray, filmy-looking coating on a plum's skin is natural and doesn't affect quality. in general, plums can be divided into two categories: Japanese and European. Japanese plums (which actually originated in China) are the larger of the two and have a juicier, softer flesh. European plums are good eaten fresh, but are particularly well suited to drying and cooking. The Japanese varieties include Coe's Golden Drop-yellow skin and rich, sweet flesh; greengage-small and round with a greenish-yellow skin and tangy-sweet flesh; Santa Rosa-large and dark purple with yellow flesh; and Satsuma-dark red skin and sweet red flesh; European varieties include D'Agen-used to make prunes; damson-small and oval-shaped with an indigo skin and tart yellow-green flesh; and Robe de Sergeant-dark bluish-purple with a sweet flesh. Fresh plums are available from May to late October. Choose firm plums that give slightly to palm pressure. Avoid those with skin blemishes such as cracks, soft spots or brown discolorations, the latter indicating sunburn. Very firm plums may be stored at room temperature until slightly soft. Refrigerate ripe plums in a plastic bag for up to 4 days. Some plums are grown specifically to be dried as prunes. The majority, however, are enjoyed fresh for out-of-hand eating or for use in a wide variety of sweet and savory preparations. Also available are canned plums, packed in either water or sugar syrup. Plums contain a fair amount of vitamin A and potassium. See also beach plum; mirabelle; plumcot; quetsch; sloe.
noun
| Description | Quantity | Energy (calories) |
Carbs (grams) |
Protein (grams) |
Cholesterol (milligrams) |
Weight (grams) |
Fat (grams) |
Saturated Fat (grams) |
| canned, heavy syrup | 1 cup | 230 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 258 | 0 | 0 |
| canned, heavy syrup | 3 plums | 120 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 133 | 0 | 0 |
| canned, juice pack | 1 cup | 145 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 252 | 0 | 0 |
| canned, juice pack | 3 plums | 55 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 0 | 0 |
| raw, 1-1/2-in diam | 1 plum | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| raw, 2-1/8-in diam | 1 plum | 35 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 66 | 0 | 0 |
| Plum | |
|---|---|
| A plum whole and split | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Subfamily: | Maloideae or Spiraeoideae [1] |
| Genus: | Prunus |
| Subgenus: | Prunus |
| Species | |
|
See text. |
|
A plum or 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).
Mature plum fruit may have a dusty-white coating that gives them a glaucous appearance; this is easily rubbed off. This is an epicuticular wax coating and is known as "wax bloom". Dried plum fruits are called dried plums or prunes, although prunes are a distinct type of plum, and may have antedated the fruits now commonly known as plums.[citation needed]
|
Contents
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The subgenus is divided into three sections:
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 192 kJ (46 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 11.4 g |
| - Sugars | 9.9 g |
| - Dietary fibre | 1.4 g |
| Fat | 0.28 g |
| Protein | 0.70 g |
| Vitamin A | 345 IU |
| Vitamin C | 9.5 mg (11%) |
| Phosphorus | 16 mg (2%) |
| Potassium | 157 mg (3%) |
| 1 fruit (2-1/8" dia) 66 g 1 cup, sliced 165 g Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database |
|
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 1,006 kJ (240 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 63.88 g |
| - Sugars | 38.13 g |
| - Dietary fibre | 7.1 g |
| Fat | 0.38 g |
| Protein | 2.18 g |
| Vitamin A | 781 IU |
| Vitamin C | 0.6 mg (1%) |
| Phosphorus | 69 mg (10%) |
| Potassium | 732 mg (16%) |
| 1 prune, pitted 9.5 g 1 cup, pitted 174 g Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database |
|
Plum fruit tastes sweet and/or tart; the skin may be particularly tart. It is juicy and can be eaten fresh or used in jam-making or other recipes. Plum juice can be fermented into plum wine; when distilled, this produces a brandy known in Eastern Europe as Slivovitz, Rakia, Ţuică or Pálinka. In central England, a cider-like alcoholic beverage known as plum jerkum is made from plums.
Dried plums (or prunes) are also sweet and juicy and contain several antioxidants. Plums and prunes are known for their laxative effect. This effect has been attributed to various compounds present in the fruits, such as dietary fiber, sorbitol,[2] and isatin.[3] Prunes and prune juice are often used to help regulate the functioning of the digestive system. Dried prune marketers in the United States have, in recent years, begun marketing their product as "dried plums". This is due to "prune" having negative connotations connected with elderly people suffering from constipation.[4]
Dried, salted plums are used as a snack, sometimes known as saladito or salao. Various flavors of dried plum are available at Chinese grocers and specialty stores worldwide. They tend to be much drier than the standard prune. Cream, ginsing, spicy, and salty are among the common varieties. Licorice is generally used to intensify the flavor of these plums and is used to make salty plum drinks and toppings for shaved ice or baobing.
Pickled plums are another type of preserve available in Asia and international specialty stores. The Japanese variety, called umeboshi, is often used for rice balls, called onigiri or omusubi. The ume, from which umeboshi are made, is more closely related, however, to the apricot than to the plum.
As with many other members of the rose family, plum seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides, including amygdalin.[5] These substances are capable of decomposing into a sugar molecule and hydrogen cyanide gas. While plum seeds are not the most toxic within the rose family (the bitter almond is the most toxic[citation needed]), large doses of these chemicals from any source are hazardous to human health.
Prune kernel oil is made from the fleshy inner part of the pit of the plum.
Plums come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Some are much firmer-fleshed than others, and some have yellow, white, green or red flesh, with equally varying skin color.
Plum cultivars in use today include:
When it flowers in the early spring, a plum tree will be covered in blossoms, and in a good year approximately 50% of the flowers will be pollinated and become plums. Flowering starts after 80 growing degree days.
If the weather is too dry, the plums will not develop past a certain stage, but will fall from the tree while still tiny, green buds, and if it is unseasonably wet or if the plums are not harvested as soon as they are ripe, the fruit may develop a fungal condition called brown rot. Brown rot is not toxic, and very small affected areas can be cut out of the fruit, but unless the rot is caught immediately, the fruit will no longer be edible. Plum is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera, including November moth, willow beauty and short-cloaked moth.
The Serbian plum (Serbian: шљива / šljiva) is the third most produced in the world and the alcoholic drink slivovitz (plum brandy) (Serbian: шљивовица / šljivovica) is the national drink of Serbia. The plum production averages 424,300 tons per year; FAO 1991–2001.[citation needed]
A large number of plums, of the Damson variety, are also grown in Hungary, where they are called szilva and are used to make lekvar (a plum paste jam), palinka (a slivovitz-type liquor), plum dumplings, and other foods. The region of Szabolcs-Szatmár, in the northeastern part of the country near the borders with Ukraine and Romania, is a major producer of plums.
The plum blossom or meihua (Chinese: 梅花; pinyin: méihuā), along with the peony, are considered traditional floral emblems of China.
The plum is commonly used in China, Yunnan area, to produce a local plum wine with a smooth, sweet, fruity taste and approximately 12% alcohol by volume.[citation needed]
The fruit Prunus armeniaca gained its name from the beliefs of Pliny the Elder, a Roman historian and scientist of the first century, who maintained the apricot was a kind of a plum, and had originally come from Armenia.[6] Armenian sources support their claims by referring to a 6,000-year-old apricot pit found in an archaeological site near Yerevan.[6] Other historians point to Mesopotamia as a clue to the Latin name. Apricots were cultivated in Mesopotamia, and it was known as armanu in the Akkadian language, but this did not refer to Armenia as that is not the name by which that geographic region was known in the Akkadian language. It is likely that Pliny's explanation is a folk etymology based on the similarity between the Mesopotamian name for the fruit and the Latin name for Armenia.[citation needed]
| Top ten plum producers in 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Production (tons) | Note | ||
| 5,373,001 | [E] | |||
| 662,631 | ||||
| 561,366 | ||||
| 533,691 | ||||
| 245,782 | ||||
| 200,100 | ||||
| 194,100 | ||||
| 155,767 | ||||
| 150,000 | [E] | |||
| 136,700 | ||||
| World | 10,679,206 | [A] | ||
| No symbol = official figure, E = FAO Estimate, A = may include official, semi-official or estimates.FAOSTAT | ||||
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| Definitions and translations from Wiktionary |
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| Images and media from Commons |
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| Learning resources from Wikiversity |
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| News stories from Wikinews |
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| Quotations from Wikiquote |
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| Source texts from Wikisource |
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| Textbooks from Wikibooks | |
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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - blomme, rosin, lækkerbidsken
idioms:
2.
adv. - plump, pladask, lige ud
adj. - fuldstændig, nøjagtig, lodret, lige
Nederlands (Dutch)
pruim, pruimenboom, pruimkleur(ig), iets speciaals, gedroogde pruim, iets aantrekkelijks
Français (French)
1.
n. - (Bot) prune, prunier
idioms:
2.
adv. - complètement, précisément
adj. - exactement vertical, total (arg)
Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Pflaume(nbaum), Leckerbissen, Pflaumenblau
idioms:
2.
adv. - senkrecht, genau
adj. - pflaumenblau
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) δαμάσκηνο, κορόμηλο, τζάνερο, (μτφ.) λουκούμι, εκλεκτό πράγμα, καλύτερη θέση, τεφαρίκι
adj. - εκλεκτός
idioms:
Italiano (Italian)
pruno, prugna
idioms:
Português (Portuguese)
n. - ameixa (f), uva-passa (f), a melhor parte (f)
adj. - cor de ameixa
idioms:
Русский (Russian)
слива, лакомый кусочек, самый лучший образец
idioms:
Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - ciruelo, ciruela, pruna
idioms:
2.
adv. - a plomo
adj. - perpendicular
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - plommon, läckerbit, russin
adj. - plommonfärgad, mörklila
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 洋李, 李属植物, 梅子, 葡萄干
2. 洋李, 李属植物, 梅子, 葡萄干, 洋李的, 李属植物的, 梅子的, 葡萄干的
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
adv. - 洋李, 李屬植物, 梅子, 葡萄乾
adj. - 洋李的, 李屬植物的, 梅子的, 葡萄乾的
2.
n. - 洋李, 李屬植物, 梅子, 葡萄乾
idioms:
2.
adv. - 수직[연직]으로, 순진하게
adj. - 연추의, 똑바른
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - セイヨウスモモ, プラム, セイヨウスモモの木, 濃い紫色, 干しぶどう, すばらしいもの, 収入のよい仕事
idioms:
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) شجرة البرقوق أو الخوخ, إجاصه (صفه) خوخه, برقوقه, إجاصه
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - שזיף, עץ שזיף, משהו טוב, ג'וב מצויין, צבע סגול-אדמדם, צימוק לבישול
adv. - בצבע סגול-אדמדם
adj. - סגול-אדמדם, איות שונה של BMULP
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