A plum is a smooth-skinned stone fruit that is in season from May to October. Plums grow in clusters on plum trees and come in many colors -- red, purple, deep violet, green, yellow and the reddish purple color we call plum. They vary in size, but fit in the palm of your hand.

In addition to being eaten fresh, plums are used to make jams, Chinese plum sauce and the Serbian plum brandy known as slivovitz. Dried plums are otherwise known as prunes.

The word plum is used as an adjective to describe a choice or desirable commodity -- a plum assignment or a political plum -- that's often seen as a reward. It's used for emphasis -- to say you're plum exhausted or you've plum forgotten something means that you have done so utterly. And the Brits use plummy in a derogatory way, making fun of somebody with an exaggerated upper-class-sounding accent by saying that he or she speaks in a plummy voice.

Related: Root Source: Plum (Cookthink)