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  • From: "Geir Flatabø" <geirf@ulvik.org>
  • To: "Seed Keepers" <seedkeepers@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Seed Keepers] ping Lawrence -- Wild Plum tree
  • Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:05:35 +0200

No problem
all seeds are allowed to be imported to Norway
(I believe except narcotics like seeds from hemp and opium poppies ).

Any other interesting wild edibles you have ??
- with accompanying ethnobotanical info ?

Geir Flatabø



2008/3/31, Lawrence F. London, Jr. <lflj@intrex.net>:
> Geir Flatabø wrote:
>
> > 2008/3/31, Lawrence F. London, Jr. <lflj@intrex.net>:
> >
> >>Cindie Strater wrote:
> >
> >
> >>I'll have plenty and will send you some.
> >
> >
> > Do you send pits / seeds to Norway also ??
>
> I will if I am permitted to. Check on it for me.
> Can you import them?
>
> > If this is a wild plum -
> > do you have Latin name Prunus ???
>
> American Wild Plum
> Prunus Americana
> Rose Family (Rosaceae). Wild plum (Prunus americana)
> Hardinesss zone: 3a (includes Minnesota, so they would be OK in Illinois,
> parts of Norway)
> http://www.google.com/search?q=American+wild+plum&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
> More pix and info:
> http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/prunus_americana.html
> http://www.mnpower.com/treebook/fact77.html
> http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/plantguides/shrubs/plantguide.asp?symbol=PRAM
>
> Ethnobotanic: Wild plum fruit was and still is extensively consumed by the
> Indians of the prairies, either fresh or made
> into a sauce (Kindscher 1987). The Pawnee, Kiowa, Comanche, Omaha, Teton
> Dakota, Lakota, Comanche, Crow, Assiniboin, and
> Kiowa ate the wild plums or chickasaw plums (Prunus angustifolia) fresh or
> dried. Plums were also pitted and dried,
> although the Pawnee reportedly often dried them without removing the pits
> (Gilmore 1977). Early explorers and travelers
> of the Prairie Bioregion often mentioned wild plums in their journals and
> diaries and also appreciated them as food
> (Kindscher 1987). Today wild plums are eaten fresh, canned, preserved in
> jams and jellies, baked, and made into fruit
> roll-ups.
>
> The Omaha scraped and boiled the bark from the roots of the wild plum and
> applied it to abrasions (Gilmore 1977,
> Kindscher 1992). They bound together the twigs of the wild plum and made
> them into a broom. The Cheyenne mixed the crushed
>
> fruits of the wild plum with salt to treat mouth disease (Hart 1981). They
> also crushed and boiled the small rootlets
> and the bark of older wild plum with the roots of the scarlet thorn
> (Crataegus chrysocarpa) as a diarrhea remedy
> (Youngken 1925). The Mesquakies used the root bark of the wild plum to cure
> canker sores around the mouth (Smith 1928).
>
> The Teton Dakota used the sprouts or young growth of the wild plum as a
> wand in the "waunyampi" ceremony (Gilmore 1977).
> This is an offering or form of prayer, consisting of a wand made from a
> peeled and painted wild plum sprout. The
> "waunyampi" ceremony is usually offered with prayers for the sick.
>
> The various species of wild plum are astringent and sedative, and the bark
> is a tonic (Smythe 1901). The roots and bark
> contain a bitter substance as well as a substance called phloretin, which
> is an active agent against gram positive and
> negative bacteria (Lewis and Elvin-Lewis 1977).
>
> Wildlife: Wild plums are eaten by turkey, black bear, and wolves (Thwaites
> 1904). Foxes, black-headed grosbeaks, and
> ring-tailed cats utilize wild plums (Martin et al. 1951). Plum thickets
> often furnish valuable protective shelter.
>
> Conservation: Wild plums have been recommended for their drought resistance
> and widely planted in shelter belts in the
> western Great Plains (Jerry Kaiser pers. comm. 1999). They also make good
> wildlife habitat and are effective in erosion
> control because their roots hold the soil. Their thorny branches catch
> tumbleweeds, leaves, and other plant materials,
> which, when windstorms occur during times of drought, provide an effective
> means of slowing wind erosion of soil.
> General Characteristics
>
> General: Rose Family (Rosaceae). Wild plum (Prunus americana) is a shrub or
> small tree 3-8 m (3-24 ft) tall, and are
> usually forming thickets. The small branches are sometimes spiny. The
> leaves are alternate, egg-shaped to oval, 6-10 cm
> (2-4 in) long. The upper leaf surface is shiny green and the lower surface
> is slightly hairy; leaf margins are sharply
> toothed. The white roseaceous flowers are in-groups of 2-5 at the ends of
> branchlets. Flowers usually appear before the
> leaves in April and May. There are five separate, oval petals 8-12 mm
> (5/16-1/2 in) long. The reddish-purple plums are
> fleshy, oval, 2.0-2.7 cm (0.75-1.25 in) long; each fruit contains one seed.
> Wild plum flowers are insect pollinated.
> Required Growing Conditions
>
> For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
> species on the PLANTS Web site. The range is
> from Massachusetts west to Manitoba and Montana, south to Utah, Colorado,
> and Oklahoma, east to Florida, and north to
> New York (Stephens 1975).
> Cultivation and Care
>
> Adaptation: Wild plum grows in prairies, woodlands, pastures, and along
> roadsides and riverbanks.
>
> Wild plums can be planted from seed and they are relatively easy to
> transplant. Plant in well drained soil; wild plum
> tolerates shade. Flowering occurs in April and May and fruit ripens from
> August to September. The plant has fruit every
> year.
>
> Propagation from Cuttings: Prunus americana cuttings are not easy to root.
> Hardwood cuttings taken in late January have
> been rooted. Hardwood cuttings are those made of matured, dormant hardwood
> after leaves have abscised and before new
> shoots emerge in the spring. Material should be taken from healthy,
> moderately vigorous stock plants grown in full
> sunlight. Central and basal portions (not the tip) of a shoot make the best
> cuttings. Cuttings vary from 10 to 76 cm (4
> to 30 in). Ensure that at least two nodes are included in the cutting; the
> basal cut is just below a node and the top
> cut is 1.3 to 2.5 cm (0.5-1 in) above a node.
>
> It is important that hardwood cuttings not dry out during handling and
> storage. Dip bases of hardwood cuttings with IBA
> at 20,000 ppm liquid formulation to promote rooting. Alternatively, treat
> with 2% IBA talc. This will promote rooting on
> both suckers and stem cuttings. Dip the cuttings into root promoting
> hormone, IBA at 2000 ppm, for a few seconds, then
> keep in the dark at temperatures of 10º (50ºF). Plant the cuttings in open
> ground in prepared holes with good potting
> soil. Firm the soil around the cuttings and water. To ensure survival of
> cuttings through the following winter in cold
> climates, the potted cuttings should be kept in heated cold frames or
> poly-houses to hold the temperature between 0-7°C
> (32-45°F). Rooted cuttings that had shoot growth in the fall, but were not
> given nitrogen, had the best over-winter
> survival in a cold frame with microfoam. Propagation from Seed: Harvest the
> fruit in the summer when ripe (the fruit
> turns dark purple), usually in August. Remove the pulp or fruit from the
> seed. Seeds can be extracted by maceration and
> recovered by flotation. Put the seed in a 50ºF cooler over the winter. For
> prolonged storage, seeds must be air dried
> and stored in sealed containers at cold temperatures. The seeds can also be
> planted outdoors in the fall so they are
> naturally "cold stratified." Natural germination occurs predominantly in
> the first or second year after seedfall,
> depending on the year.
>
> If sowing seed in the fall, it is important to sow early enough so seeds
> can pre-chill before seedbeds freeze. This can
> be overcome by mulching the seedbeds. Seedlings reach suitable size for
> transplanting in one to two years. Cold
> stratifying up to 6 months in a moist environment can break seed dormancy.
> Wild plum seeds have fairly low germination.
> There are 6.5 seeds per gram.
> General Upkeep and Control
>
> Wild plum grows on the edges of prairies and woodlands. Traditional
> resource managers burned this community regularly
> thus maintaining the patchwork mosaic of prairie and woods on the landscape
> (Thwaites 1906). Burning provided habitat
> for wild plum to become established, and the nutrient enrichment increased
> fruit production. The branches of wild plum
> were often pruned or cut back to increase production.
>
> Source: USDA, NRCS, PLANTS Database, plants.usda.gov.
> National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA
>
>
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