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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] beach plums in NYT

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  • From: Sam Franc <franc@oregonfast.net>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] beach plums in NYT
  • Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2003 12:26:21 -0700

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







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