The bullace is a variety of

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found ...

. It bears edible fruit similar to those of the

damson The damson () or damson plum ('' Prunus domestica'' subsp. ''insititia'', or sometimes ''Prunus insititia''),M. H. Porche"Sorting ''Prunus'' names" in "Multilingual multiscript plant names database, University of Melbourne. Plantnames.unimelb.e ...

, and like the damson is considered to be a strain of the ''insititia'' subspecies of ''

Prunus domestica ''Prunus domestica'', the European plum is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. A deciduous tree, it includes many varieties of the fruit trees known as plums in English, though not all plums belong to this species. The greengag ...

''. Although the term has regionally been applied to several different kinds of "wild plum" found in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, it is usually taken to refer to varieties with a spherical shape, as opposed to the oval damsons.Taylor, H. V. ''The Plums of England'', Lockwood, 1949, p.6Hogg, R. ''The fruit manual: a guide to the fruits and fruit trees of Great Britain'', JHO, 1884, p.689 Unlike nearly all damsons, bullaces may be either "white" (i.e. yellow or green) or "black" (i.e. blue or purple) in colour, and ripen up to six weeks later in the year.Vaughan, J. and Geissler, C. ''The new Oxford book of food plants'', OUP, 2009, p.76 Though smaller than most damsons, bullaces are much larger than the closely related

sloe ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalisation (biology), naturalized ...

. Their flavour is usually rather acidic until fully ripe.

Etymology and origin

The name probably originates from the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...

', meaning "sloe", via

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...

'. Wild plums were formerly given the related name "bullies" in parts of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

.Peacock, E. ''A glossary of words used in the wapentakes of Manley and Corringham, Lincolnshire'', English Dialect Society, 1889, p.79 They were also known as the "bullum-tree" in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

; "bullison" in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

; "scad" in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...

; and as the "wild damson" in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

.Grigson, G. ''The Englishman's flora'', Hart-Davis, 1975, p.176 The similar word ' was used in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it h ...

. Like other varieties of ''Prunus domestica'', the bullace may have had its origin in hybrids between the sloe (''

Prunus spinosa ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...

'') and cherry plum (''

Prunus cerasifera __NOTOC__ ''Prunus cerasifera'' is a species of plum known by the common names cherry plum and myrobalan plum.Rose-related fruits
Natural History Museum Another theory suggests that the bullace developed (or was selected) over time from the sloe, without the involvement of ''Prunus cerasifera''.Woldring, H. "On the origin of plums: a study of sloe, damson, cherry plums, domestic plums and their intermediate forms", in ''Palaeohistoria'', 39,40 (1997-1998): Institute of Archaeology, Groningen, 535 ''Prunus insititia'' is still, however, occasionally regarded as a separate (entirely native) species. It is possible that the bullace is genuinely native to Great Britain: the horticulturalist Harold Taylor, in his book ''The Plums of England'', described it as "the only truly English plum", observing that all other hybrid varieties of plum and damson had at least some non-native origins.Taylor, 1949, p.2 Although once cultivated, and familiar to gardeners of the

Tudor period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began wit ...

, the bullace gradually fell out of favour as newer, larger or sweeter types of damson or plum displaced it, and it hung on at the fringes of cultivation. Its hardiness meant that, like the damson, it was occasionally planted as a windbreak or hedging tree, and until the 20th century was regarded as valuable for providing fruit very late in the year.

Varieties

Four main varieties of bullace are recognised in England: the White, Black, Shepherd's and Langley. The bullace may be found as a small tree, growing to around 8 metres in height, or as a bush, distinguishable from the sloe by its broader leaves and small number or complete absence of spines. There is, however, a wide variation between trees in different districts due to hybridization and local selection. Bullaces generally ripen in October–November, rather later than other types of plum, and fruit heavily. They may sometimes be found growing wild in woods or hedgerows, particularly near old farmhouses; others may be found in old gardens or orchards, or can still be purchased from some nurseries.

Black Bullace

The Black Bullace is the common "wild" bullace of woods in England, recognisable by its small, round black or dark purple fruit.Bagenal, N. B. ''Fruit growing: modern cultural methods'', Ward, Lock, 1939, p.186 It is sometimes classified as ''insititia'' var. ''nigra''.Sell, P. "The cherries and plums of Cambridgeshire", ''Nature in Cambridgeshire'', 33 (1991), 31 It can be quite astringent until very ripe, or subject to a slight frost; a larger variety known as the "New Black Bullace" was later developed from it.

White Bullace

The White Bullace, sometimes classified as ''insititia'' var. ''syriaca'', has small, yellowish fruit, with greenish flesh.Lindley, G. ''A guide to the orchard and fruit garden'', Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green, 1831, p.467 A very old variety, it was once known in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

and

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

by the name "cricksies" or "crickses", formed on an earlier plural "creeks", and probably originating in

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

'.''

Notes and Queries ''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to "English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inner ...

'', 1851, p.451, and 1898, p.117 It was grown in large quantities in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

in the 19th century, for use in preserving or cooking; Hogg described the flesh as "firm, juicy, sweet and subacid".Hogg, p.257 It is also occasionally referred to as the "Golden Bullace".

Shepherd's Bullace

This variety has relatively large round fruit, ripening by October to a grass green or yellowish green colour, with small red spots on the sunward side.''Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society'', 1920, p.623 It was formerly common in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and

and may still be found in hedgerows in eastern England.

Langley Bullace

The Langley Bullace, or "Veitch's Black Bullace", is by far the newest variety, being first raised in 1902 by the

Veitch Veitch or Vetch is a Scottish surname, and may refer to: Veitch * Arthur Veitch (1844–1880), horticulturist * Bill Veitch (1870–1961), New Zealand politician * Champion Doug Veitch (born 1960), Scottish musician and songwriter * Colin Veitch ...

nurseries at

Langley, Berkshire Langley, also known as Langley Marish, is a suburb of Slough in Berkshire, South East England. It is east of the town centre of Slough, and west of Charing Cross in Central London. It was a separate civil parish until the 1930s, when the built ...

. It was a cross between an Orleans plum and the Farleigh damson, and is therefore not considered a true bullace in some sources.Bagenal, p.188 This is the largest variety, and when ripe - which occurs in November - is much the sweetest.

Other varieties

Other names have appeared, but are likely to represent either the above broad types or variations of them; Abercrombie and Mawe, writing in 1779, described three types of bullace, the "white", "black" and "red".Abercrombie, J. and Mawe, T. ''The British fruit-gardener, and art of pruning'', 1779, p.99 Loudon also mentions a black, white and red bullace, as well a double flowered variety ''flore pleno''.London, J. C. ''Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum'', 1844, p. li Hogg described an "Essex Bullace", which appears in all respects identical to the Shepherd's Bullace, and a "Royal Bullace", said to bear very large, yellow-green fruit. A "New Large Bullace", probably synonymous with the Royal Bullace, was occasionally mentioned, described as very similar to the Shepherd's Bullace but with larger leaves, many of which were glandless, a much more vigorous habit, and lighter cropping.''Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society'', 1906, 623

Uses

Bullaces are often stated to only be suitable for cooking.''RHS Complete Gardener's Manual'', Dorling Kindersley, 2011, p.266 As well as being used for stewing and making various

fruit preserves Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the met ...

, they were also traditionally used to make

fruit wine Fruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of base ingredients (other than grapes); they may also have additional flavors taken from fruits, flowers, and herbs. This definition is sometimes broadened to include any alcohol ...

, and a bullace pie was stated to be one of the usual centrepieces of a 19th-century harvest home supper in the south of England.'' British Cyclopædia of the Arts, Sciences, History, Geography, Literature, Natural History, and Biography,'' Wm. S. Orr, 1838, p. 643 However, some bullaces are palatable raw when sufficiently ripe.

References

{{Hybrid Prunus Plum cultigens Flora of Great Britain