Cherry plum - Prunus cerasifera
- The Foraging Course Company
- Jul 30
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 6
Edible plant - novice Season - flowers early spring, summer fruit Common names Cherry plum, myrobalan, mirabelle, myrobalan plum, wild plum, Pissard plum, weeping plum
Scientific name meaning: Literally meaning plum tree, prunus is a Latin word. Cerasifera is from the Greek word kerasos, meaning cherry tree, and the Latin fera, meaning wild
Habitat  Cherry plum can be found in hedgerows, woodlands, wasteground, parks and gardens. It is a native of southern Europe and western Asia. |
Overall structure  The largest of the plums found in the UK, reaching up to 15m tall. It has a dense canopy of many spindly twigs and thin branches. |
Leaves  Leaves are oval shaped, wrinkled and serrated. They are usually broader in the lower half and have down along the veins. They are green but some ornamental cultivars can be dark purple. |
Stem/trunk  The bark is grey-brown and forms deep fissures as it ages. The twigs start off green and age to red-brown, then dark brown. They can have thorns. |
Flower  Flowers are creamy white or pink, with five petals and visible reproductive parts. The sepals recurve backwards away from the petals. They are found clustered along the twigs and bloom in March. |
Fruit  The drupe fruits are smooth-skinned and range in colour from yellow, through to reds and purples. They can be egg-shaped or spherical and have juicy flesh. |
Possible lookalikes  Bullace and damson (pictured) are relatives of cherry plum and could easily be confused with it. Fortunately, the fruit of both of these is edible. Cherry plum's skin, however, is much smoother and shinier than that of damson and bullace. Cherry plum trees can also reach much larger sizes than both bullace and damson. |
Use as a food The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked. Flavour can vary wildly between different specimens and fruit colour is not a reliable indicator. Cooked, the fruit is used to make jams, jellies, syrups, ketchups, fruit leathers and chutneys.
The flowers are also edible in moderation and have a mild almond flavour Hazards The leaves and seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides and hydrogen cyanide. The seeds/stones, leaves, barks, stems and twigs should not be consumed.
Use in herbal medicine and medicine None known
If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner Other uses Dark grey to green dyes can be made from the fruit Importance to other species Provides a valuable nectar source for pollinators, and abundant food source for birds. The leaves provide a food source for the caterpillars of the lackey, magpie, common emerald, small eggar, swallow-tailed and yellow-tailed moths, as well as black and brown hairstreak butterflies, along with many others.
Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!
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