Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 6:08 pm Post subject: Fantastic early morning forage!
Hi all, I went for a walk around the common at about 7am this morning (my first for a couple of weeks) and found a little tree or three tucked away that were absolutely dripping in small (and absolutely delicious) bright red plums! Luckily I had a carrier bag with me in case I found a chance mushroom, so I snaffled 2lb and will be back even earlier tomorrow morning, with a small stepladder, to get what looks like at least another 10-15lb!
The footpath I walk along, has two plum like trees overhanging from two gardens.
One has green leaves and inch circumference yellow fruit, like mirabelle? A French friend snaffled one once, but I think it wasn't ripe at the time.
The other is red leaved with pale pink-white flowers in the summer, a blossom I look for every year. The fruits are small plum size and a similar red to the leaves at the moment although this is the first year I have noticed many.
They are probably out of reach (I have taken garlic mustard seeds yesterday though)...and there would be little point asking the owners as neither seem aware they have a garden (one chopped down a peach!) but I'd be interested to know what they are...not allowed to grow anything from seed though
I could take pics I suppose, but the fruit wouldn't come out well.
Am I right in assuming that if it looks like a cherry/plum (bark, leaf, fruit and flower) then it's edible, if you like it?
Right well give us yer phone number love, we'll ring and check you're still breathing in the morning...now that would be a new one.
I can't recall reading anything that suggest anything in this family is poisonous, just some of them are bitter, or not worth it for the fruit. I suppose if you ate too much of something that was underripe it would give you an ache like any sour fruit but apart from that...I'm a lot more confident with wild fruits and flowers than I am with mushrooms. I never realised I was so English
Told the missus about this one, we agreed that if we lived closer we'd have snuck in before you this morning and cleared the tree. Gotta be careful what you say on the www...
Not strictly true that none of the prunus are poisonous. Enough bitter almonds could do you harm, and enough bird cherries might make you feel a bit unwell. But generallyt speaking, if it looks like a plum and tastes like a plum, you're fine
There are a lot of red leaved ornamental plums, Bugs, and the one you describe sounds like one of those. It's rare for the fruit on those to be nice, but sometimes... Give it a go.
And we've got a big plum harvest coming here... Just desperate to find time to go and get it We make wild plum jam every year, and try to get a batch of plum wine too. Plums also make a phenomenal chutney.
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