Hello all,
We have just joined after a week searching high and low on google for some answers to some wild fruit/ berry we have come across.
We have been helping an elderly relative tidy there farm and in the clearing process uncovered 100's of 'fruit bearing' trees.
Without complicating things to much I have attached a few pictures of some fruit we are struggling to identify...Through speaking with various locals we have come to think these are either Damson or Bullace (I must add that these trees are also mixed in with sloe trees but from past experiance I can identify these)
[Image Can Not Be Found]" alt="" width="1024" height="576" />
This is a few trees which are mixed in and around with sloes (above)
[Image Can Not Be Found]" alt="" width="1024" height="576" />
The 2nd pic are a row of these trees maybe 6 or 7 all with same sized 'fruit' on no sloe trees in and around them.
[Image Can Not Be Found]" alt="" />
The last pic above is what the inside looks like the above two 'fruits' come off the same tree as pic 2.
Anyway touch wood someone will be able to clear this up for us and will be much appreciated!
Thanks
John
Hi John,
I'm not an expert on this but there are damson trees growing near us and the fruit look about the right size, possibly slightly on the small side. Any wild plums or bullaces I have seen usually have a greenish flesh instead of yellow. I haven't been to pick the local damsons yet this year - I'll have a look tomorrow and see if there are any left.
Visit my blog for food, drink, photography and hamsters.
Many Thanks for the responses.
The majority of people we spoke to have said damson but just going off pictures on the net the damson I have come across seem more pear shaped, its just when someone said bullace and I have looked on pictures I seem to be leaning more to them, but I have been told today that bullace is a type of Damson anyway?!?! either way they taste spot on and I am sure the missus will be able to put them to good use!
Hi John,
Damson and bullace are more or less the same, the picture there seems to look like a wild Victoria plum which is exactly the same that is growing in the field behind my house.
Sloes, Bullaces,And damsons are usually all dark purple in colour.
All I can suggest is get this book its surprising how handy it can be
Richard Maybe-Food for free, its my hedgerow foraging bible
ATB Jono
I've made some of what I call wild plum jam this year, and stewed some for mixing with yoghurt.
Ditto for what I call wild damson jam and stewed, which I differentiate from wild plums on the grounds that they taste like shop damsons, and are as sweet.
I looked into this a year or so ago - there might be old threads here about it - and what I discovered is that plum trees grow true from shoots, but not from seeds. Grafting too, I should think.
I've found over the last few years a whole load of trees with what I call wild plums in pembrokeshire, and, like blackberries and hedgerow apples, there is a wide degree of difference in bitterness, other taste cues, and the time at which they become ripe.
There are various claims of variety of blackberry, running into hundreds, though actually I suspect more - almost infinite.
My view is that the same thing can be said of wild plums. Certainly there is a helluva lot of variation in taste, size, bitterness, timing.
Getting to know which are the best ones for your purposes is a matter of experience. Some of the ones I use for jam are quite bitter, which gives the jam, I think, more depth of taste.
I have no garden, but if I did I wouldn't try to grow any plum from seed. If one could extract a shoot (is that legal?) from a good tree, then I'd think that would be the way to go.
David
David B said:
There are various claims of variety of blackberry, running into hundreds, though actually I suspect more " almost infinite.
My view is that the same thing can be said of wild plums. Certainly there is a helluva lot of variation in taste, size, bitterness, timing.
I agree totally with that. I think there must be dozens of hybrids of plum/damson/bullace/sloe in the hedgerows of Britain, probably the result of cross pollination. Many of which may well have no name.
The fruits in photo 2 look very like some that grow near me. At first I thought they were big sloes until I tasted them¦¦¦..sweet not sour.
Endless trawling through books and internet have failed to establish what exactly they are. I have simply resorted to calling them damsons.
I use them to make a very pleasant flavoured gin.
The third picture looks like the kind of plums we have here in Latvia. Very nice but on the small side.
Most Users Ever Online: 509
Currently Online:
51 Guest(s)
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Top Posters:
brightspark: 10530
danast: 10232
Aly: 9506
Sooliz: 8042
Hattie: 6920
Ambersparkle: 6671
JoannaS: 4800
Terrier: 4518
eileen54: 4397
Xahha: 4231
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 9
Members: 16143
Moderators: 2
Admins: 2
Forum Stats:
Groups: 6
Forums: 25
Topics: 2267
Posts: 122862
Newest Members:
Yasemin331, Arokain, Bibi, shivangi12, nateboussad, idokeModerators: Toffeeapple: 16303, AdminTA: 10
Administrators: fn: 322, Danny: 5516
Copyright © 2006-2012 Cottage Smallholder Our Privacy Policy Advertise on Cottage Smallholder