Prunus and Pliny uses "prūnus silvestris" to mean the blackthorn. The word is not native Latin, but is a loan from Greek προῦνον ("prounon"), which is a variant of προῦμνον ("proumnon"), origin unknown. The tree is προύμνη ("proumnē"). Most dictionaries follow Hoffman, "Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Griechischen", in making some form of the word a loan from a pre-Greek language of Asia Minor, related to Phrygian. The first use of "Prunus" as a genus name was by Carl Linnaeus in "Hortus Cliffortianus" of 1737, which went on to become "Species Plantarum". In that work, Linnaeus attributes the word to "Varr.", who it
Prunus americana Prunus americana Prunus americana, commonly called the American plum, wild plum, or Marshall's large yellow sweet plum, is a species of "Prunus" native to North America from Saskatchewan and Idaho south to New Mexico and east to Québec, Maine and Florida. "Prunus americana" has often been planted outside its native range and sometimes escapes cultivation. It is commonly confused with the Canada plum ("Prunus nigra"), although the fruit is smaller and rounder and bright red as opposed to yellow. Many cultivated varieties have been derived from this species. It forms an excellent stock upon which to graft the domestic plum.