Easiest time to identify: Late summer to early fall when fruit is developing on trees.
Harvest/forage: Early to mid-fall.
This plum tree is the southern species of the wild North American varieties. The two trees are very similar and the differences are negligible when foraging. The tree flowers in the spring and begins to fruit in the late summer and early fall. Across the UNT campus the different trees fruit and ripen at different times. This could be due to age, health, microclimate and many other factors. From my own observations most of the trees put on fruit but besides the ripening time, the quantity and quality in taste of the fruit differ. The wild plum is also a productive species. Even the differences in raw flavor are a non-factor with this tree, because the fruit is large enough to make processing economical. The fruit is also easy to spot from far distances making it a favorite of any forager.
The fruit from this particular tree at the English auditorium is a comparatively late fruiter. While other trees in the area have been putting on fruit, this particular tree has no visible developing fruit. My observations from last fall confirmed this when the tree had ripe fruit well into September. But the fruit that is dropping and ripe from the other trees is bitter and unpleasant when eaten raw. More observations of the other trees are necessary. [I have come back to the tree several months later and I believe the tee is sick or damaged in some way. The leaves are brown and have many holes.]
I have not attempted to process the fruit in any way. No jams or jelly or dried.
Traditionally the wild plum was a very important food source for indigenous groups across North America and for many communities is still an important food source. The plums typically fruit from about mid-summer until late fall in southern regions. This long fruiting season allowed the fruit to be used in many ways. The fruit is eaten raw, cooked as in jams and jelly or dried (Kindscher 1987). While the seeds/pits contain hydrocyanic acid there are traditions of processing the pits to be eaten, which are high in protein and fat. Some groups used the fruiting to describe the season as the red plum months. This reflects the importance of the fruit as a later summer early fall food source. Many nuts are not ripe yet, even oak, when the plum trees are putting on edible fruits. 
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