Plum
Plum is a type of fruit tree that reaches up to 10 meters in height. It produces white flowers with five petals. The flowers usually appear in large numbers making the tree beautiful. It belongs to the Rosaveous family and usually reaches up to 6 meters in height (the most usual size). The tree’s trunk is covered with dark blue tinted brown bark that is smooth and distinguished by longitudinally cracking. The tree produces alternate small and thin branches, Its root system is long, folding, and consists of winding, slightly branched roots that are located quite shallow in the ground.
The leaves are oblong and sawed, usually in dark green colors, smooth on the upper side, and pubescent on the bottom side. The tree produces small white, solitary flowers with small buds covered with rough scales. The flowers are built of five free petals with a waved edge. They have many stamens with bilobed anthers. Flowers turn into oval (sometimes round) fruits that are often covered with a wax-like substance. Depending on the variety, plum fruits can be red, white, purple, or yellow in color. The stone inside them is hairy and oblong. It is slightly compressed and has only one rib. Inside the stone, there are up to two seeds.
Plums are an excellent source of various types of vitamins and other important nutrients. They contain a significant amount of vitamin C, are rich in fiber, and are well-known laxatives. They are available in various forms in the market as they are commonly eaten raw, dried, or processed products such as jams, juices, or liquors. They are commonly used to prepare various dishes, especially desserts, cakes, and pies. The harvest takes place from June to August. Plums can be stored in the cold storage room. They are commonly dehydrated or dried in order to increase their preserve time. The fruits are quite energetic food as 100 grams contains up to 52 calories.
The largest plum producer in the world is China with almost 6801187 metric tonnes produced per year. The second-largest producer is Romania with 842132 metric tonnes produced every year. The third-largest production takes place in Serbia with 430199 metric tonnes produced annually. Other important producers are the USA, Iran, Turkey, and India.