Distinguishing Features: The Wild Plum differs from other plums in Illinois by the absence of glands on the teeth of the leaves. The Wild Plum may have either smooth or hairy leaves and twigs.
WILD GOOSE PLUM
Prunus hortulana Bailey
Growth Form: Small tree to 20 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 8 inches; crown broad and rounded.
Bark: Gray or brown, becoming scaly at maturity.
Twigs: Slender, reddish-brown, smooth; leaf scars alternate, half-round, elevated, with 3 bundle traces.
Buds: Ovoid, rounded at the tip, reddish-brown, smooth, up to ¼ inch long.
Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades oblong to oval, pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering to the base, up to 6 inches long and about ⅓ as broad, finely toothed along the edge, the teeth gland-tipped, green and usually smooth on the upper surface, paler and sometimes hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks slender, up to 1 inch long, with 1-several glands, smooth or sparsely hairy.
Flowers: Showy, several in a cluster, up to 1 inch across, with 5 white petals, appearing after the leaves are partly grown.
Fruit: Spherical or nearly so, up to 1 inch in diameter, red or rarely yellowish, fleshy but hard, bitter, 1-seeded.