Plum (Prunus domestica, etc.)

AKA Greengage, Bullace, Damson, Cherry Plum

Where: Woodland Edges, hedgerows. Throughout UK, but more common in south.  

What: Fruit

When: September – November

The Plum – fantastic fruits, versatile, and often occurring in huge quantities on single trees, they can be used 1000s of recipes, as well as being preserved for later use.

Now, there are dozens of inter-related species that come under the heading Plum, but for the UK, and our purposes of ‘wild food’, we will be dealing with the Greengage (Prunus domestica ssp. italica) - which is rarely found outside of gardens, but which can very easily escape, and the Damson (Prunus domestica ssp. institia) otherwise known as the Bullace, as well as the true Wild Plum (Prunus domestica). Also included here is the Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera) which differs very slightly, although there is no real difference in terms of the fruit. However, for the sake of simplicity (and at the risk of annoying plum fanatics the world over) I shall treat them as a single plant species, whilst noting any significant differences so that you can at least identify the species on which you are chomping.

Growing as a small tree (max. 9m) or shrub, the varieties of plum occur mainly on woodland edges and in hedgerows, and often near habitation (as escaped cultivars).

The pointed oval leaves appear alternately on the stem in spring time, often after the blossom has arrived, and measure a maximum of 6cm by 3cm with fine toothed edges. They are ribbed with a slightly hairy underside, and are a dark matt green in colour, though often by fruiting season they become a mottled yellowish and/or brown-red flecked in places.  The bark is a grey brown in colour, and smooth at first, though becoming cracked with age, and whilst most species are thornless, some aren’t, so check before climbing about.

The flowers occur in April/May time, though much earlier with the Cherry Plum tree, typically in March/April. They are a typical tree blossom: made up of 5 delicate white petals with a yellow centre, and measuring 2.5cm across, they occur singly, or in groups of up to 3, sometimes in huge quantities giving an explosion of white amongst the spring greens.

Now, the fruit. For most Plum trees, they arrive in September, and last into October, however, the Cherry Plum, comes much earlier, usually in July. They are typically smaller than cultivated varieties – usually about 6cm give or take – and are an oval or round shape, with the characteristic groove down the side. It has many different colours ranging from the classic dark purple plum colour, through red, yellow or green, an every combination in between. The skin is peeled to reveal a yellowish flesh that can either be quite tough or very soft, depending entirely on tree, variety, ripeness, etc. Similarly, they can be beautifully sweet and juicy, or horrifically astringent and sour – there is no way of knowing without trying; each tree will be uniformly of the same taste, so my advice is if you find a ‘good’ tree, stick with it, although you will be fighting birds, and other foragers for its bounty. All Plum trees, but especially the Cherry Plum, can produce a mass of fruit in great bunches so that they resemble vines laden with grapes, and will often break branches under their weight. Happy hunting!

What to do with them once you have collected them? Well, they make good eating on their own – as you would a normal plum. You could dry them completely in the oven or dry breezy place as one does with apple, etc, and eat them like that or add them to cakes, breads, scones, etc. Or you could partly dry them and add to a syrup to make prunes - love ‘em or hate ‘em, they will keep you regular! I have a recipe for a plum curry which I’m dying to try – it will either be amazing or… well, I dread to think! And of course, there is the ubiquitous wines and gins to try and make. Of course, the classic way of enjoying them is stewed in a pudding, or, even better, as a Damson jam. A big regret of mine is that I never got my Nan’s recipe for Damson jam – all I remember is that it was sweet, big on flavour, thick, and had huge lumps of Damson in it. Let that be an object lesson for you all – get the family recipes whilst you still can, for once they are gone, they are gone forever.

The mess below the tree - often a great way of identifying Plum trees!