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The damson (), damson plum, or damasceneSamuel Johnson equates "damascene" and "damson" and for "damask plum" simply states "see Plum" ( A Dictionary of the English Language, 1755, p. 532). Later expanded editions also distinguish between "damascene" and "damson", the latter being described as "smaller and with a peculiar bitter or roughness". ( Prunus domestica subsp. insititia, sometimes Prunus insititia),M. H. Porcher "Sorting Prunus names", in "Multilingual multiscript plant names database, University of Melbourne. Plantnames.unimelb.edu.au. Retrieved on 2012-01-01. is an edible Drupe fruit, a subspecies of the plum tree. Varieties of insititia are found across Europe, but the name damson is derived from and most commonly applied to forms that are native to Great Britain. Damsons are small, ovoid, plum-like fruit with a distinctive, somewhat astringent taste, and are widely used for culinary purposes, particularly in fruit preserves and .
In South and Southeast Asia, the term damson plum sometimes refers to Syzygium cumini, the fruit from a tree in the family Myrtaceae. The name "mountain damson" or "bitter damson" was also formerly applied in Jamaica to the tree Simarouba amara.Bowerbank, "The Commercial Quassia, or Bitterwood", The Technologist, II (1862), 251 Terminalia microcarpa and Chrysophyllum oliviforme are also sometimes referred to as damson plums.
The exact origin of Prunus domestica subsp. insititia is not known with certainty. It is often thought to have arisen in wild crosses, possibly in Asia Minor, between the sloe, Prunus spinosa, and the cherry plum, Prunus cerasifera. Despite this, tests on cherry plums and damsons have indicated that it is possible that the damson developed directly from forms of sloe, perhaps via the round-fruited varieties known as , and that the cherry plum did not play a role in its parentage. Insititia plums of various sorts, such as the German Kriechenpflaume or French quetsche, occur across Europe and the word "damson" is sometimes used to refer to them in English, but many of the English varieties from which the name "damson" was originally taken have both a different typical flavour and pear-shaped (pyriform) appearance compared with continental forms. Robert Hogg commented that "the Damson seems to be a fruit peculiar to England. We do not meet with it abroad, nor is any mention of it made in any of the pomological works or nurseryman's catalogues on the Continent". As time progressed, a distinction developed between the varieties known as "damascenes" and the (usually smaller) types called "damsons", to the degree that by 1891 they were the subject of a lawsuit when a Nottinghamshire grocer complained about being supplied one when he had ordered the other.Ayto, J. The Glutton's Glossary: A Dictionary of Food and Drink Terms, Routledge, 1990, p.94
In addition to providing fruit, the damson makes a tough hedge or windbreak, and it became the favoured hedging tree in certain parts of the country such as Shropshire and Kent. Elsewhere damsons were used in orchards to protect less hardy trees, though orchards entirely composed of damson trees were a feature of some areas, notably the Lyth Valley of Westmorland and the River Teme in the Malverns, and indeed damsons were the only plum planted commercially north of Norfolk."Plums and Cherries", Bulletin of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries v119, (1948), HMSO, 4
There is a body of anecdotal evidence that damsons were used in the British dye and cloth manufacturing industries in the 18th and 19th centuries, with examples occurring in every major damson-growing area (Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, Westmorland, Shropshire and Worcestershire). Stories that damsons were used to dye khaki army uniforms are particularly common. However, a 2005 report for conservancy body English Nature could find no documentary evidence within the dyeing industry that damsons were ever a source of dye, noting that use of natural dyes declined rapidly after the 1850s, and concluded that "there seems no evidence that damsons were used extensively or techniques for developed". The main recorded use of damsons in the industrial era was in commercial jam-making, and orchards were widespread until the Second World War, after which changing tastes, the effect of wartime sugar rationing, and the relatively high cost of British-grown fruit caused a steep decline.
The damson was introduced into the American colonies by England settlers before the American Revolution. It was regarded as thriving better in the continental United States than other European plum varieties; many of the earliest references to European plums in American gardens concern the damson.Hatch, P. The Fruits and Fruit Trees of Monticello, University of Virginia Press, 1998, p.108 A favourite of early colonists, the tree has escaped from gardens and can be found growing wild in states such as Idaho.Johnson, F. D. Wild trees of Idaho, UIP, 1995, p.78
The tree blossoms with small, white flowers in early April in the Northern hemisphere and fruit is harvested from late August to September or October, depending on the cultivar.
Damsons do take a long time to bear fruit, as the ancient rhyme has it:-
A type of damson once widely grown in County Armagh, Ireland, was never definitely identified but generally known as the Armagh damson; its fruit were particularly well regarded for canning. The fruit year book, 4 (1950), Royal Horticultural Society, p.44 Local types of English prune such as the Gloucestershire 'Old Pruin', are sometimes described as damson varieties.
To confuse matters, the White Bullace was in the past sold in London markets under the name of "white damson".Grindon, L.H. Fruits and Fruit-Trees, Home and Foreign. an Index to the Kinds Valued in Britain, 1885, p.71 Bullaces can usually be distinguished from damsons by their spherical shape, relatively smooth stones, and poorer flavour, and generally ripen up to a month later in the year than damsons.
Because damson stones may be difficult and time-consuming to separate from the flesh, preserves, such as jam or fruit butter, are often made from whole fruit. Most cooks then remove the stones, but others, either in order not to lose any of the pulp or because they believe the flavour is better, leave the stones in the final product. A limited number of damson stones left in jam is supposed to impart a subtle almond flavour, Food Manufacture, Vol XX (1945), 204 though as with all plums damson stones contain the cyanogenic glycoside amygdalin, a toxin.
Damson gin is made in a similar manner to sloe gin, although less sugar is necessary as the damsons are sweeter than Prunus spinosa. Insititia varieties similar to damsons are used to make slivovitz, a distilled plum spirit made in Slavic Europe. Fruit wine was once common in England: a 19th-century reference said that "good damson wine is, perhaps, the nearest approach to good port wine that we have in England. No currant wine can equal it"."Damson Wine", in Hogg and Johnson (eds) The Journal of Horticulture, Cottage Gardener, and Country Gentleman, v.III NS (1862), 264
Characteristics
The main characteristic of the damson is its distinctive rich flavour; unlike other plums it is both high in sugars and highly astringent.Greenoak, F. Forgotten fruit: the English orchard and fruit garden, A. Deutsch, 1983, p.77 The fruit of the damson can also be identified by its shape, which is usually ovoid and slightly pointed at one end, or pyriform; its smooth-textured yellow-green flesh; and its skin, which ranges from dark blue to indigo to near-black depending on the variety (other types of Prunus domestica can have purple, yellow or red skin).D. G. Hessayon (1991) The fruit expert. Expert Books. . Retrieved on 2012-01-01. Most damsons are of the "clingstone" type, where the flesh adheres to the stone. The damson is broadly similar to the semi-wild bullace, also classified as ssp. insititia, which is a smaller but invariably round plum with purple or yellowish-green skin. Damsons generally have a deeply furrowed stone, unlike bullaces, and unlike cannot be successfully dried. Most individual damson varieties can be conclusively identified by examining the fruit's stone, which varies in shape, size and texture.
"He who plants plums
Plants for his sons.
He who plants damsons
Plants for his grandsons."
Cultivars
Several have been selected, and some are found in Great Britain, Ireland and the United States. There are still relatively few varieties of damson, with The Garden recording no more than "eight or nine varieties" in existence at the end of the 19th century; The Garden, v.49 (1896), 432 some are self-fertile and can reproduce from seed as well as by grafting. The cultivars 'Farleigh Damson' and 'Prune Damson' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
White damson
Although the majority of damson varieties are blue-black or purple in colour, there are at least two now-rare forms of "white damson", both having green or yellow-green skin. The National Fruit Collection has accessions of the "White Damson (Sergeant)" White Damson (Sergeant), National Fruit Collection, accessed 05-09-12 and the larger "White Damson (Taylor)", White Damson (Taylor), National Fruit Collection, accessed 05-09-12 both of which may first have been mentioned in the 1620s.
Uses
The skin of the damson can have a very tart flavour, particularly when unripe (the term "damson" is often used to describe red wines with rich yet acidic plummy flavours). The fruit is therefore most often used for cooking, and is commercially grown for preparation in jam and other fruit preserves. Some varieties of damson, however, such as "Merryweather", are sweet enough to eat directly from the tree, and most are palatable raw if allowed to fully ripen. They can also be pickled, canned, or otherwise preserved.
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