North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

Title: Re: [NAFEX] Re: Cherry Plums

Having grown some of the so called white bullaces (P. insititia) and being familiar with the big, bronze type of muscadines, I can definitely see how European settlers might call the grapes "Bullaces".    There is a definite similarity of appearances.    
    Given the northern European origin of the Bullace plum, you probably would spend all your time fighting disease on them in the South, and they might not get enough chilling to fruit well anyway.
-Lon Rombough

>  "They are the kind of plums the Europeans usually call
> "Bullaces".
>
>
> In this part of the southern US, the wild muscadine is
> called "Bullace Grape" and I've noted that "Bullace" is
> another name for "Balata" the dried sap of the Bully Tree
> (Manikara bidentata) used in making golf balls.
> I was told years ago that "Bullace" was a contraction of the
> Scottish term for "Bullet" but later learned in ballistics
> that "Bullet" was derived from the French word for a small
> ball--"boulette". The Bullace you mentioned probably caused
> early settlers to mistakenly or purposely call the muscadine
> a Bullace Grape.  I know that Bullaces grow in clusters
> unlike any other plum with which I am familiar. They are
> delicious and wish I could get them to grow and produce
> here.
> Doc Lisenby
> _______________________________________________