Purple Damson Plum

Prunus prædura ovata - Purple Gros-Damas Plum

In the mid-19th century, Poiteau noted that this plum could be counted "among the good plums," a measured judgment that speaks volumes: this fruit with purplish skin, covered in a delicate azure bloom, was already appreciated for its abundant juice and firm flesh that easily separates from the pit.

But he warned: the tree should not be too heavily laden, otherwise the fruits fall before maturity. A quality requirement that reveals the great care taken by arborists of the time in managing their orchards.

The Purple Gros-Damas is a large, vigorous, upright, and very fertile plum tree, with branches that extend horizontally. Its long, slender buds turn a light red in the sun.

The leaves are large, oval, light green, slightly hairy, and bordered with rounded teeth.

The milky white flowers are small and delicate.

The fruit, medium-sized, measures about 3cm in height by 2.5cm in diameter. Its very faint red skin, dark, sometimes yellowish, is dotted with small ash-colored spots and covered with an azure bloom that gives it its characteristic violet hue.

The yellow flesh, firm and slightly tart, releases abundant and very good juice. Ripening occurs in August and continues for a long time. When the tree bears too much fruit, those that fall can be made into long-lasting preserves, precious for winter.

This plate is taken from Pierre-Antoine Poiteau and Pierre Jean François Turpin's Traité des Arbres Fruitiers, a botanical encyclopedia published between 1807 and 1835, a major reference in 19th-century naturalistic illustration.

It combines the rigor of scientific drawing with a rare artistic sensibility, characteristic of the great plates from the golden age of botanical illustration.