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| Creek Plum, Hog Plum, Thicket Plum Prunus rivularis Rosaceae Creek plum makes its home in calcareous clay soils or limestone outcrops along streams and river valleys in sunny sites by the Colorado, Guadalupe and Leone Rivers in the Edwards Plateau, North Central Texas, and into Oklahoma. It is another thicket-forming plum with slender stems bearing umbel-like clusters of white blossoms at the same time as its unfolding leaves. About the size of a large cherry, the fruit usually ripens to yellow with a crimson blush on one side, or less often may be a lustrous bright red, drying to black. Although it is said to be poorly flavored and quite tart, it was nevertheless occasionally eaten by Native Americans. As a species, creek plum is quite variable; rivularis refers to its preference for growing near stream banks.
Plant Habit or Use: small shrub Exposure: sun Flower Color: white Blooming Period: spring Fruit Characteristics: yellow or bright red drupes Height: 3 to 8 feet Width: 5 feet, thicket-forming Plant Character: deciduous Heat Tolerance: high Water Requirements: Soil Requirements: alkaline Additional Comments:
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