Habitat Restoration - Mexican Plum Trees
Mexican Plum Tree or Bigtree.
About 3 years ago, the Habitat Restoration Committee of the Friends of RRNWR planted 3 Mexican plums along the walking trail at the RRNWR Headquarters building. This small tree was selected because it meets 3 of the basic needs of wildlife. In the spring, it has beautiful, fragrant white flowers that appear before the leaves, and they attract bees and other pollinators (refer to photo). Second, the plum fruit ripen from about July through September providing food for birds and other wildlife (refer to photo). And third, the tree in leaf is an excellent cover for birds to build a home and raise their young.
Bigtree or Mexican plum is a single-trunked, non-suckering tree, 10-35 ft. tall, with fragrant, showy, white flowers displayed before the leaves appear. Mature trunks become satiny, blue-gray with darker, horizontal striations. Leaves up to 5 inches long and 2 inches wide, ovate to narrower with serrate margins; minute glands on the petiole near the base of the blade. Plums turn from yellow to mauve to purple as they ripen from July through September.
The common wild plum of the forest-prairie border from Missouri and eastern Kansas to Texas. The fruit is eaten fresh and made into preserves and is also consumed by birds and mammals. This species has served as a stock for grafting cultivated varieties of plums.
Use Ornamental: Attractive, Aromatic, Showy, Fall conspicuous, Accent tree or shrub
Use Wildlife: Plums attract birds. Nectar-bees, Fruit-birds, Fruit-mammals
Use Food: Fruit used for preserves and cooking.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Fragrant Flowers: yes
Attracts: Birds, Butterflies, Native Bees
Larval Host: Tiger Swallowtail, Cecropia moths
Nectar Source: yes
Deer Resistant: No
