Audubon® Native American Plum

Mark the arrival of spring with a blizzard of snow-white Plum blossoms! This spritely native fruit tree will light up your landscape each year. More than just a pretty picture, though, Wild Plum is a boon to wildlife. The flowers provide nectar and pollen to honey bees, bumblebees, mining bees, carpenter bees, and sweat bees, and the small, sweet-tart fruits feed grouse, jays, quail, and foxes (and you!). Best of all for birds, however, is the habitat that Wild Plum supplies. The dense, twiggy growth is ideal for low-canopy-nesting birds, such as mockingbirds, vireos, Brown Thrashers, cardinals, Mourning Doves, and sparrows.

Wild Plum, a.k.a. American Plum, brightens wild spaces over much of the United States. Its natural range extends from New Hampshire to Florida and west to Montana and Oklahoma. Left to its own devices, this small tree sends up suckers all around the parent plant and becomes a dense thicket. These shrubby oases are prime habitat for quail, who often need to take cover from hawks and other predators. The fruits are a bonus for them! Songbirds appreciate Wild Plum not only for the nesting habitat it affords, but also for the caterpillars it supplies. These insects make choice baby food for their chicks.

Another creature that appreciates Wild Plum is the incredible Cecropia moth, which lays its eggs on the leaves. With a wingspan of up to seven inches, it is North America’s largest moth species. To see one is an unforgettable experience!