Prune refers to any of more than 125 varieties of fruit, most grown for drying. Four of the most common varieties are French, Imperial, Italian, and Greengage. Prunes are cultivars of plum species (mostly Prunus domestica). In general, prunes are freestone cultivars (the stone is easy to remove), whereas plums are cling (the stone is more difficult to remove). Fresh prunes reach the market earlier than fresh plums and are usually smaller in size. Prune juice is more fiber-rich than plum juice and is often marketed as a treatment for constipation. Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water, which is required for decay and the growth of microorganisms. ... Recently harvested Greengages The Greengage is an edible drupaceous fruit, a cultivar of the plum, Prunus domestica Reine Claude. It was developed in France from a green-fruited wild plum originally found in Asia Minor. ... A cultivar is a cultivated variety of a plant species. ... Plum is also a nickname for British humorist P.G. Wodehouse. ... Dietary fibers are the indigestible portion of plant foods that move food through the digestive system and absorb water. ... Constipation or irregularity, is a condition of the digestive system where a person (or animal) experiences hard feces that are difficult to eliminate; it may be extremely painful, and in severe cases (fecal impaction) lead to symptoms of bowel obstruction. ...

Dried fruit of the prune tree were traditionally called "dried prunes" or "prunes", but an effort is currently underway to market them as "dried plums". In the United States, due to the negative association of prunes with their laxative effects and the elderly, the California Dried Plum Board has renamed and begun remarketing prunes as "dried plums". A laxative is a preparation used for encouraging defecation, or the expulsion of feces. ...