Taxon ID:
Usage Facet: class=edible; edible_score=1.0; ornamental_score=0.0; inferred_from_taxon=no
Relationships: 0 | Linked Entities (visible): 0 | Evidence claims: 28 | History events: 0 | Catalog issue offerings: 0
Open profile JSON | Open lineage explorer | Open lineage JSON
Evidence Badge: emerging | claims=28 | sources=3 | contradictions=0
Claim Types: description_snippet:8, recommendation_context:5, productivity:3, selection_origin_reference:3, release_year_reference:2, taxon_context:2, anecdote_snippet:1, fruit_size:1 | Open evidence summary JSON | Open citation drawer JSON
Connected Views: lineage table | lineage graph | history charts | trait matrix | search
Link Filter: showing signal links (candidate hidden); hidden candidate links=0. Show candidate links
Wolf is a native American plum, placed in Prunus americana var. mollis. It was one of the best known prairie plums in early South Dakota and Minnesota horticulture. Sources place its origin around 1852 in Wapello County, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. An old report says it came from pits taken from wild trees in the woods. It was widely planted and was repeatedly described as one of the most popular native plums of its time.[S5]
South Dakota station and grower records describe Wolf as a productive orchard plum, not a curiosity. In the Brookings station orchard, planted on native plum roots, it was reported hardy, very productive, and able to bear very large crops of large fruit of excellent quality.[S9] Later station notes still found the 1888 trees in fair condition after many heavy crops, and one report gave its ripening date as September 8, 1903.[S5] Another early grower report said Wolf trees of the same age produced 11 bushels and recommended the variety outright.[S9]
Sources consistently describe the fruit in broad terms as large, good, and of excellent quality.[S5] Wolf was important enough in commercial prairie plum growing that older South Dakota sources grouped it with De Soto, Wyant, and Forest Garden as improved native plums that brought better prices than wild picked fruit.[S9] One source says Wolf was a little earlier than some other plums at one location, while another calls it late. This suggests the season may have shifted by site, or that different strains were being compared.[S9]
Wolf was also valued as breeding material. South Dakota breeders raised many seedlings from selected Wolf trees and concluded that it was prolific of good seedlings. Many of those seedlings fruited young, bore freely, and often produced fruit of good size and sometimes good quality.[S5] Wolf later appears as a pollen parent in other plum breeding work, including hybrids behind Kaw and Kiowa, but those later crosses reflect descendant use, not Wolf's own parentage.[S6][S8]
The hardiness evidence is strong but mixed. Wolf was repeatedly recommended for hardy plum planting on native plum roots in South Dakota and Minnesota, and Minnesota lists specifically recommended the freestone form for general cultivation.[S2][S5][S9] Yet Manitoba and other northern reports also record winter injury or top killing in some plantings, especially when young, and rootstock trials with sand cherry gave mixed long term results even when first year growth looked good.[S3][S5] The strongest reading is that Wolf was a hardy and reliable native plum for the northern prairie orchard belt, but not the hardest choice for every far north site or every stock.[S2][S3][S5][S9]
Sources also preserve a small but important warning about identity. Northwestern nurseries recognized both freestone and cling forms under the name Wolf, and South Dakota authors cautioned that an unknown Americana clingstone was sometimes being called Wolf as well.[S2][S5] That naming blur matters because it may explain some conflicting remarks on fruit type, season, and performance.
Summary source basis
This summary currently draws chiefly from Plums in South Dakota, with 7 additional supporting sources linked below.
Featured source descriptions
“The trees in that adverse note were later said to have been not on Sand Cherry roots at all, but misobserved.”
— [5]
“Two Wolf plums were recognized in northwestern nurseries: a freestone and a cling form.”
— [3]
“The Wolf plum alongside received a pretty hard jolt during the winter and was doubted to survive.”
— [5]
“The adverse note stated that some of the trees fruited in 1897 and all of them fruited in 1898.”
— [5]
Direct parent cultivars
Parentage claim text
Derived or downstream cultivar links
Source-story quotations
Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.
Related cultivars mentioned in source context
Zone assertions are structured rows. Hardiness claim text appears in evidence claims and page-linked citations.
| Zone Min | Zone Max | Zone Text | Assertion Type | Outcome | Location | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No explicit zone assertion rows yet. | ||||||
No linked media assets.
| Document | Title/URL | Rights | Claims | Relationships | History Events | Pages | Snippets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Plums in South Dakota | unknown | 19 | 0 | 0 | p37 p43 p44 | The seedlings bore fruit the fourth year from the pit after being transplanted the second spring.; The seedlings fruited freely even when planted closely in nursery rows.; Some of these seedling varieties are under propa |
| 112 | Pollination Studies with Stone Fruits | unknown | 6 | 0 | 0 | p3 p4 | Species/background listed as P. americana.; Bloom season: late.; Pollinated 13 varieties tested.; Rated as a good pollinizer in Table 3. |
| 14 | A Study of Northwestern Apples | unknown | 3 | 0 | 0 | p15 p18 | Recommended on northern native plum roots in multiple districts in the PLUMS section.; Origin mechanism is unresolved as bud variation versus seedling mix in this source.; Two forms (free stone and cling) are recognized |
| Document | Page | Claim Type | Claim | Quote | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | p18 | recommendation_context | Recommended on northern native plum roots in multiple districts in the PLUMS section. | PLUMS. Districts Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11—On northern native plum roots: DeSoto, Wyant, Wolf, Forest Garden, Odegard. For trial: Aitkin. / Districts Nos. 6, 8, 9, 12—... Hawkeye, Wolf, Forest Garden. / District No. 7—... | page_block:0.90 |
| 14 | p15 | entry_hardiness_observation | Origin mechanism is unresolved as bud variation versus seedling mix in this source. | In northwestern nurseries ... two Wolf plums are now recognized, the free stone and the cling; it is not known whether this is bud variation or a seedling mix. | page_block:0.90 |
| 14 | p15 | description_snippet | Two forms (free stone and cling) are recognized in nurseries. | In northwestern nurseries ... two Wolf plums are now recognized, the free stone and the cling; it is not known whether this is bud variation or a seedling mix. | page_block:0.90 |
| 112 | p4 | taxon_context | Species/background listed as P. americana. | Wolf 13 Late P. americana | page_block:0.90 |
| 112 | p4 | description_snippet | Bloom season: late. | Wolf 13 Late P. americana | page_block:0.90 |
| 112 | p4 | description_snippet | Pollinated 13 varieties tested. | Wolf 13 Late P. americana | page_block:0.90 |
| 112 | p4 | recommendation_context | Rated as a good pollinizer in Table 3. | Wolf 13 Late P. americana | page_block:0.90 |
| 112 | p3 | recommendation_context | Native varieties proved to be good pollinizers for hybrid plums that bloomed at the same time. | Wolf — P. americana | page_block:0.90 |
| 112 | p3 | entry_pedigree | Listed in Table 2 as P. americana. | Wolf — P. americana | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p44 | anecdote_snippet | The seedlings bore fruit the fourth year from the pit after being transplanted the second spring. | The fact that the Wolf is one of the most desirable varieties has led the writer to raise many seedlings from selected specimens on the grounds of this Station. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p44 | productivity | The seedlings fruited freely even when planted closely in nursery rows. | The fact that the Wolf is one of the most desirable varieties has led the writer to raise many seedlings from selected specimens on the grounds of this Station. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p44 | recommendation_context | Some of these seedling varieties are under propagation for further trial, with a fuller report deferred to a later plum report. | The fact that the Wolf is one of the most desirable varieties has led the writer to raise many seedlings from selected specimens on the grounds of this Station. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p44 | description_snippet | Some Wolf seedlings also bear fruit of good quality. | The fact that the Wolf is one of the most desirable varieties has led the writer to raise many seedlings from selected specimens on the grounds of this Station. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p44 | fruit_size | Aconsiderable number of Wolf seedlings bear fruit of good size. | The fact that the Wolf is one of the most desirable varieties has led the writer to raise many seedlings from selected specimens on the grounds of this Station. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p44 | productivity | The experiments led to the conclusion that Wolf is prolific of good seedlings. | The fact that the Wolf is one of the most desirable varieties has led the writer to raise many seedlings from selected specimens on the grounds of this Station. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p44 | selection_origin_reference | The writer raised many seedlings from selected Wolf specimens growing on the Station grounds. | The fact that the Wolf is one of the most desirable varieties has led the writer to raise many seedlings from selected specimens on the grounds of this Station. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p44 | recommendation_context | Wolf is described as one of the most desirable varieties. | The fact that the Wolf is one of the most desirable varieties has led the writer to raise many seedlings from selected specimens on the grounds of this Station. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p43 | description_snippet | Reported free from pocket. | Wolf, Americana, var. mollis. History.-Originated about 1852, Wapello county, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p43 | release_year_reference | Fruit was ripe September 8 in 1903. | Wolf, Americana, var. mollis. History.-Originated about 1852, Wapello county, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p43 | description_snippet | Fruit described as large and good. | Wolf, Americana, var. mollis. History.-Originated about 1852, Wapello county, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p43 | productivity | In the old Station orchard set in 1888, the Wolf trees were still in fair condition after many heavy crops of large, good fruit. | Wolf, Americana, var. mollis. History.-Originated about 1852, Wapello county, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p43 | description_snippet | Sometimes an unknown Americana clingstone variety is called Wolf; see Clingstone Wolf. | Wolf, Americana, var. mollis. History.-Originated about 1852, Wapello county, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p43 | description_snippet | Described as one of the most popular and widely planted of the native plums. | Wolf, Americana, var. mollis. History.-Originated about 1852, Wapello county, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p43 | selection_origin_reference | Said to have come from pits taken from wild trees in the woods. | Wolf, Americana, var. mollis. History.-Originated about 1852, Wapello county, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p43 | entry_location | Originated in Wapello County, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | Wolf, Americana, var. mollis. History.-Originated about 1852, Wapello county, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p43 | release_year_reference | Originated about 1852. | Wolf, Americana, var. mollis. History.-Originated about 1852, Wapello county, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p43 | taxon_context | Placed under Americana, var. mollis. | Wolf, Americana, var. mollis. History.-Originated about 1852, Wapello county, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p37 | selection_origin_reference | Wolf was one of the main varieties in H. J. Gurney's Elk Point orchard. | contains mainly such varieties as Hawkeye, Quaker, DeSoto, Wyant, Wolf and Forest Garden | page_block:0.90 |
| Year | Nursery | Catalog Issue | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| No catalog issue offerings linked. | |||
| Relation | Type | ID | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| No linked entities at this filter level. | |||
| Type | Claim | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| recommendation_context | Recommended on northern native plum roots in multiple districts in the PLUMS section. | 0.97 |
| entry_hardiness_observation | Origin mechanism is unresolved as bud variation versus seedling mix in this source. | 0.90 |
| description_snippet | Two forms (free stone and cling) are recognized in nurseries. | 0.95 |
| taxon_context | Species/background listed as P. americana. | 0.98 |
| description_snippet | Bloom season: late. | 0.96 |
| description_snippet | Pollinated 13 varieties tested. | 0.96 |
| recommendation_context | Rated as a good pollinizer in Table 3. | 0.98 |
| recommendation_context | Native varieties proved to be good pollinizers for hybrid plums that bloomed at the same time. | 0.91 |
| entry_pedigree | Listed in Table 2 as P. americana. | 0.98 |
| anecdote_snippet | The seedlings bore fruit the fourth year from the pit after being transplanted the second spring. | 0.90 |
| productivity | The seedlings fruited freely even when planted closely in nursery rows. | 0.90 |
| recommendation_context | Some of these seedling varieties are under propagation for further trial, with a fuller report deferred to a later plum report. | 0.86 |
| description_snippet | Some Wolf seedlings also bear fruit of good quality. | 0.87 |
| fruit_size | A considerable number of Wolf seedlings bear fruit of good size. | 0.88 |
| productivity | The experiments led to the conclusion that Wolf is prolific of good seedlings. | 0.93 |
| selection_origin_reference | The writer raised many seedlings from selected Wolf specimens growing on the Station grounds. | 0.94 |
| recommendation_context | Wolf is described as one of the most desirable varieties. | 0.95 |
| description_snippet | Reported free from pocket. | 0.93 |
| release_year_reference | Fruit was ripe September 8 in 1903. | 0.94 |
| description_snippet | Fruit described as large and good. | 0.95 |
| productivity | In the old Station orchard set in 1888, the Wolf trees were still in fair condition after many heavy crops of large, good fruit. | 0.97 |
| description_snippet | Sometimes an unknown Americana clingstone variety is called Wolf; see Clingstone Wolf. | 0.88 |
| description_snippet | Described as one of the most popular and widely planted of the native plums. | 0.95 |
| selection_origin_reference | Said to have come from pits taken from wild trees in the woods. | 0.90 |
| entry_location | Originated in Wapello County, southern Iowa, on the farm of E. B. Wolf. | 0.97 |
| release_year_reference | Originated about 1852. | 0.96 |
| taxon_context | Placed under Americana, var. mollis. | 0.98 |
| selection_origin_reference | Wolf was one of the main varieties in H. J. Gurney's Elk Point orchard. | 0.82 |
| ID | Type | Year | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| No history events. | |||