From Invasive ornamental to Native Edible
Now that spring has sprung, I am sure everyone notices all of the white blooming flowers on the trees around town and through the neighborhoods. I encourage folks to also notice abandoned lots whether on the outskirts of town, near shopping centers, or in neighborhoods and see how they have all of these white flowering trees growing abundantly wild. These trees are called Bradford Pears aka Callery Pears (Pryus calleryana) and are highly invasive in that they spread not only by seed, but also by underground rhizome. My friend by the horseshoe curve can not have a full growing season meadow because his neighbors have these trees and they spread to his 2 acre field taking over every square foot to its entirety. The more he mows it the stronger these trees get. As of 2021 these trees have been banned from being sold in Pennsylvania. Although they have been banned they are still going to be a problem long into the foreseeable future.
A solution as an alternative in both look and growth habit are Native American Plums! (Prunus Americana) or American Plum gives us people the same desirable look of the white flowers in the early spring, so similar to Bradford Pear that it is hard to differentiate the two. But with a closer look you may be able to smell the difference… Although grown for there ornamental appeal, Bradford Pear blooms are often said to have a bad smell, on the other hand American Plums are said to smell refreshingly delightful.
After the blooms comes the fruit. The Bradford Pear although edible, is not the type of Pear you would be hoping for. The American Plum on the other hand is an actual Plum and although wild is significant in size. Along with American Plum there are other varieties of Native Wild Plums such as - Quawpaw Plum (Prunus hortulana, Shawnee Plum (Prunus munsoniana), Chickasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia), Beach Plum (Prunus maritima) all with there unique tastes, looks and habitat preferences. Because these varieties have wild native genetics they are less susceptible to the disease that European Plums face. In my observations, Native fruits, having adapted to co-exist with the insects in this ecosystem for thousands of years, seem to carry a noticeable natural defense towards insects tearing into them while the fruit is still on the tree. This is exciting, because this can alleviate humans urge to spray the fruit with pesticide. To be sensical, we really shouldn't need to buy plums from a store. but also have free food on all the trees in the form of Native Plums.
The ecological significance is that Native trees like plums host numerous varieties of native insects, caterpillars and are pollinated by native bees. This is important because insects make up the basis of the food web in our ecosystem. The Bradford pear hosts 1 species of caterpillar. Native Plums host 100s of different species of Caterpillar. 95% of birds feed their babies caterpillars to give them strength development to fly out the nest.
In awareness of this situation Ecotopian EarthCare would like to offer FREE American Plum Trees to anyone who has Bradford Pear trees on their site and is willing to have them cut down and have their stumps removed. We want to encourage people to plant trees shrubs and flowers that are Ecological/Edible, and let you know that they can still be esthetically pleasing.
