Fruit Identification

[zubrei]

Hi All,

I've just moved into a new house and there is a reasonable sized tree at the foot of the garden. It has a large amount of what look like a cross between plums and cherries, I was wondering in any of you (who are definitely more knowledgeable) have any idea what they are.

The fruit is fleshy (plum/nectarine like) on the inside and has a small stone as well. Size wise they are about an inch long and roughly circular. Any help would be appreciated as I think I can probably drown the world in jam if they are edible.

Thank you in advance.

[Millymollymandy]

Plums growing on a silver birch!!!

Sorry I can't help with the variety of the plum but happy picking anyway! (assuming they are edible, but I imagine they are)

[MKG]

Everything looks plummy apart from that bark. However, plums they almost certainly are. I suppose they could be cherry plums (very edible) or the tree could be a flowering plum (fruit also very edible, although not many people know that - but they usually have large stones).

I'm not aware of anything which looks like a plum and is toxic.

Mike

[Millymollymandy]

I'm not used to seeing ripe plums and leaves on at the same time - my leaves have always fallen by the time the fruit is ripe!

MKG I think the silver birch is a separate tree it's just misleading in the photo. The plum leaves look very large though but then I'm only used to 3 varieties (mine) which have leaves half that size.

[bandit081]

They are definately definately cherry plums, I have 2 trees growing wild locally to me, there are about 7 different varieties, and one of them are golden, much sweeter than the red type, I have currently got 5 gallons of this stuff plinking away in my back bedroom, and they make great jam, If you do make Jam out of them, you wont need very much sugar as they are loaded with it already, when I tested the specific gravity of the must there was loads and loads of natural sugar. i made about 6 pots or jam out of the ones i picked and just let it reduce and it set very hard, in fact its a bugger to spread straight from the fridge lol.

Also great mixed with apples in a tart

Hope you enjoy.

[contadino]

They don't look like either cherry or plum leaves to me, so I'd hesitate before eating any of the fruit.

Sorry, I don't know what they actually are.

[sleepyowl]

Well it's definitely prunus spp not the cherry laurel which is the poisonous one as the fruit is totally the wrong shape. Looks like a plum variant, there are so many different types of plum now they don't even have all the same shped leaves anymore. Is the tree on your side of the fence? If not they are legal impications as they have to be offered to the person whose tree they are on before you can claim them as yours. Plus you could always ask what the tree is if it isn't yours. It is posssible to do patch test first put some of the juice on your skin on the underside of your arm if it rashes up don't eat it, if it doesn't bite a little off, chew it spit it out, again if it rashes or you feel ill after doing that don't eat it.

[westham]

i agree its definitely cherry plum and it has the same bark as a flowering cherry, the decrotive type

[gdb]

It's either the very rare Silver Birch Plum ... or, much more likely, just a good old plum of some sort.

I'd suggest drying 'em, jamming 'em and/or scoffing them fresh.