History, Distribution, Production and Taxonomic Classification of Plum

Abstract

Plum is a comestible fruit classified as Prunus of the Rosacea family and the Amygdaloideae subfamily. The fruit or dry fruit are consumed all over the world, principally in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Principally cultivated plums are the Japanese (Prunus salicina) and European plums (Prunus domestica L.). The principal regions participating in the production of plums are China, the United States and South America. India is also an important producer of plums worldwide. The production of plums has doubled in the last several decades. The history of plums shows the hybridization and diversification of chromosomes polyploidy. Finally, taxonomy and phylogenetic analyses are recommended to classify the plum species.