History of plum (Prunus domestica)

The origin of Prunus domestica dates back millenniums of years. It is believed to have originated in the area of the Caucasus and Asia Minor.

The spontaneous occurrence of P. domestica has taken place sometime before the Neolithic Age.

Plums are, next to apples, one of the oldest cultivated fruits. From drawings and literature it is known that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans ate plums.

Its oldest remains of Prunus domestica ssp. insititia were found both in the Ukraine dating back 6000 years and in the South of Germany near Ulm (4060 – 3956 BC).

The European plum was first mentioned in the 7th century BC in Archilochus’s ‘Pollux’. Theophrast in 4th century BC mentioned the plum under the name ‘pronye’ for the first time.

According to Pliny the plums was brought from Syria into Greece and thence into Italy.

The Romans brought the plum in the region north of the Alp Mountains. A ‘tavern’ was found there at the north of Lake Balaton in Hungary with wall paint from 1st century illustrating woman’s head surrounded by reddish purple plums.

There is a distinct drop in the number of recorded stones in the centuries following Romans period until Carolingian times.

It is probable that high quality cultivars originated from southeast Europe after the Middle Ages and distributed throughout Europe by the seventeenth century. European settlers introduced European plums in the 16th century into North America.
History of plum (Prunus domestica)