North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Sam Franc <franc@oregonfast.net>]

Beckett wrote:

> The New York Times has a great article on Beach Plums today:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/03/dining/03PLUM.html?8hpib
>
> Free registration required.  Excerpt:
>
> " Virtually all commercial plums are large, juicy Asian varieties or 
> European types like prunes, greengages and damsons. But there are also 
> about two dozen native American species, many notable for hardiness 
> and disease resistance, bearing mostly small, tart and tannic fruit.
>
> "The beach plum, Prunus maritima, was the first of these mentioned by 
> a European, the explorer Giovanni da Verrazano, on his 1524 visit to 
> the southern New York area. In 1609 Henry Hudson noted abundant beach 
> plums at the mouth of his namesake river. Sporadic cultivation began 
> in the 19th century, first for the plant's spectacular white blossoms, 
> and later, by a few experimenters, for its fruit."
>
> Thomas
Does anyone know what the variety of the western wild plum is. It is 
bigger that the eastern, about the size of a golf ball. The seed is 
large and not round like the beach plum. The meat is a little sweeter, I 
think.
I find it occasionally in the Oregon low hill land. It is not plentiful 
like the beach plum as far as I have found.
Sam