The Flavor of History: Chickasaw Plum

One of the trees chosen for the Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove at MOSI is not the descendant of one particularly significant tree, but rather a descendant of an important species. A small hedge of Chickasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia) borders one end of the grove and each spring these small trees put on a show of fragrant white blooms.

Chickasaw plum was among the first fruits domesticated for human use in North America. It was observed in groves deemed ‘ancient’ by the American born naturalist William Bartram (1739-1823). Bartram traveled the North American Southeast as part of a survey party in the late 1770’s. He noted the species of plants and animals he observed, land features that he encountered and also described the clothing and customs of the indigenous peoples he met.

His travels and observations were published as a book entitled Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida but now often known as Bartram’s Travels. Published in 1791, the book became wildly popular in the young nation of the United States of America and later in Europe. The volume established William Bartram as a respected and influential naturalist of the North American continent and was used as a definitive guide to the flora of the Southeast.

In the trek between the now deserted Quaker settlement of Wrightsborough and the once lost Great Buffalo Lick Bartram’s party came across long deserted settlements of the indigenous Native Americans. Although most traces of the villages were gone orchards of planted trees remained. Among the species Bartram found were Shellbark Hickory, Honeylocust, Persimmon, Eastern Black Hickory, Red Mulberry, Beauty Berry and Chickasaw Plum. Bartram noted that these stands of fruit bearing trees were still in use by the local Creek peoples who collected and used the fruit in their day to day lives.

About the Chickasaw Plum Bartram wrote “The Chicasaw plumb I think must be excepted, for though certainly a native of America, yet I never saw it wild in the forests, but always in old deserted Indian plantations: I suppose it to have been brought from the S. W. beyond the Missisippi, by the Chicasaws.”

Throughout his travels, William Bartram encountered many stands and orchards of fruit trees planted by peoples long before his arrival. At a time of tumult and war on the North American continent, Bartram and his party explored a part of the continent that was wild and barely settled. As a great fan of history I enjoy Bartram’s account of places once roamed by wild buffalo and filled with a bounty of plants and animals in a time long before fruit was something that you found in the produce section of a grocery market.

Each summer the Chickasaw Plum’s thorny branches give forth small golden plums that ripen to a lovely bright red hue. The tiny fruits are tart and sweet at the same time with a small pit in the center. Although you likely have to fight the birds to find a ripe fruit, the taste of history is well worth the effort. The sweet-tart taste of history is worth the wait and effort.