The Legendary Beach Plum

Returning a Rhode Island Indigenous Plant Back into the Landscape

Beach Plum (prunus maritima) is an indigenous (or native) fruit and flavor that is tied deeply into the history of the northeast region. From jams, sauces, rums, wines, and pies, beach plums have been used as a key flavor in a number of classic regional dishes.

Beach Plums grow naturally along beaches, in the sand dunes, and in the coastal areas from Virginia to Rhode Island and Cape Cod, and all the way to Nova Scotia. While once a northeast delicacy, they have been forgotten by many people in the northeast and are not as abundant as they once were.

Beach plums are an important plant to the indigenous people of the northeast, with many place names and trails being named after the plant, and with them still being a joyful and tasty food source to gather in the late summer. Some members of the Narragansett tribal nations have described to us how foraging beach plums and using them in food is still important to local tribal members today, here in Rhode Island. Beach plums were an important food source for indigenous people as they grew so abundantly in coastal areas up and down the entire northeast coast. Each tribe has their own history and cultural connection to beach plums, so if you are not in Rhode Island, consider visiting your local indigenous tribe’s museum or public cultural events to learn more about their history with the fruit (and consider bringing some beach plums as a gift if you’ve foraged or grown them yourself).

For settlers and colonizers, beach plums were one of the first recognized edible fruits in the northeast, growing alongside coastal waterways. Beach plums became highly prized by those who lived near the shore for making jams. Up until the last half-century, you could see beach plum jams being offered for sale at small markets in seaport towns. Cape Cod even had its own Beach Plum Growers Association.

In coastal Rhode Island, you can still see places that have the name Beach Plum or Plum in them, including Plum Beach Lighthouse and Beach Plum Inn in Westerly. However, due to coastal development along shorelines and the removal of many natural sand dunes, beach plums are no longer abundant and can actually be quite rare to find in the wild.

However, Beach Plums can be cultivated at home in regular soils and are very versatile. Salt tolerant, drought tolerant, and able to grow in many different soils (including sand), they are tough plants! They have many various cooking applications, or can just be eaten off the branch in late August. Planting beach plums is a great way to contribute to the ecological strength of your area, especially along the coast. Beach plums can help protect shorelines from erosion and are still an important food source for migratory birds, and other creatures, as well as humans.

A Beach Plum Tree Blooming in Spring

Are you ready to get planting and return an incredible plant back into abundance in the northeast? Our store has baby beach plum trees that grow in regular soils and produce a huge amount of fruit. Help spread this plant throughout the northeast again. Order here or e-mail us to come visit our nursery in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

We want to honor the fact that indigenous people stewarded this plant for millennia and were the first innovators in using it as a food source. For anyone who is indigenous and would like baby beach plum trees, we will do our best to get them to you for free. Just message or email us directly.

Plum Beach Lighthouse in Rhode Island