Are flowering/ornamental plum fruits edible?

There is a hidden bounty waiting for those who are willing to pick it.

For those who have a keen eye, free food is everywhere. Probably the first food I foraged for myself was plums. Not wild plums, nor those grown for food. Those lovely purple-leafed plum trees (Prunus cerasifera) that dot city streets and suburban communities, as long as they are not a non-fruiting cultivar, can produce a large crop of small purple and edible fruits. Most of the time, however, these end up as a nuisance on the ground and nobody consumes them. What a waste.

For those curious, however, the wealth of these plums can be put to a purpose other than being a stain on the sidewalk. Because nobody eats them, ornamental plum fruit are often regarded as not being edible. This is supported if you just pop one into your mouth, because when eaten out of hand most ornamental plum fruit are very sour, though you will run into the occasional sweet one. They are very edible, however, and can be delicious if used properly.

The anti-oxidant rich purple juice from these plums is very tart, not very sweet, and has a beautiful floral fragrance. They are the perfect size to pit with a…