The prune plum (''Prunus domestica'' subsp. ''domestica'') is a fruit-bearing tree, or its fruit. It is a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the plum ''

Prunus domestica ''Prunus domestica'' 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 greengages and damsons als ...

''. The freestone fruit is especially popular in

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

Names

The fruit is known under various regional names, including "blue plum", "damask plum", "sugar plum", and "German prune" in English-speaking countries, and "Zwetschge" in German-speaking ones.Sorting Prunus Names: http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Prunus_Pt2.html The word ''Zwetschge'' (), plural ''Zwetschgen'', is from the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. Variants of the word include: ''Quetsch(e)'' (

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, and regionally in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

); ''Kwetsen'' (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

), ''Zwetschke'' (regionally in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

); and ''Zwetsche'' (regionally in Germany). These names, like ''damson'', are thought ultimately to derive from postulated Vulgar Latin *''davascena'', altered from ''damascena'', meaning "of Damascus".

Description

The prune plum tree is often found in '' streuobstwiesen''. It grows to in height; older trees have spreading branches. The bark is brownish. The

leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leav ...

is simple, long, alternate, petiolate, crenulate, and elliptic. The

blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as w ...

appears in April and May in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

, before or with foliation, and is white, greenish-white, or yellowish-green on two or three downy pedicels. The fruit is a freestone

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

. It is less round than other plums, its ends are more pointed and the groove is less pronounced. The freestone fruit is similar to, but distinct from, the clingstone

damson The damson (), damson plum, or damasceneSamuel Johnson equates "damascene" and "damson" and for "damask plum" simply states "see Plum" (''A Dictionary of the English Language'', 1755, p. 532). Later expanded editions also distinguish between "da ...

(''Prunus domestica'' subsp. ''insititia'').

Varieties

Examples of varieties are 'Seneca', 'Stanley', 'Fellenberg', ''Prunier d'Ente'' (also known as d'Agen), and ''Prunier Perdrigone''. More than a hundred varieties of prune plums are grown in Central Europe. Examples include Cacaks Beste, Elena, Hauszwetschge, and Ortenauer. File:Cacaks_Beste.JPG, Cacaks Beste File:Prunus - Elena.JPG, Elena File:Prunus - Hauszwetschge.JPG, Hauszwetschge File:Ortenauer.JPG, Ortenauer File:Šljiva Stanley - zreli plodovi (2022).JPG, 'Stanley'

Uses

The red-brown wood is used in fine

cabinetry A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...

. The fruit, which ripens in August and September in the Northern Hemisphere, is a popular seasonal table fruit. It is also used for making

prune A prune is a dried plum, most commonly from the European plum (''Prunus domestica'') tree. Not all plum species or varieties can be dried into prunes. Use of the term ''prune'' for fresh plums is obsolete except when applied to varieties of ...

s. Prune plums hold their form well at oven temperatures and are much used in baking,Plum or zwetschge? (German): http://www.test.de/Leserfrage-Pflaume-oder-Zwetschge-4127383-0/ for example in tarts such as ''

quetschentaart Quetschentaart, a popular Luxembourg speciality, is a simple open fruit tart with zwetschgen. In the Ketty Thull recipe, the dough for the shortcrust Shortcrust is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the ...

'' and ''

zwetschgenkuchen Zwetschgenkuchen, Pflaumenkuchen (), Zwetschgendatschi (southern Bavaria) or Zwetschgenplootz (Franconia) is a sheet cake made from yeast dough, shortcrust pastry, shortcrust dough, or cake batter that is thinly spread onto a baking sheet and cov ...

''. They are the sole ingredient in the traditional ''

powidl Powidl (also porvidl, powidła, povidla, or powidel) is a plum butter, a type of fruit spread prepared from the prune plum, that is popular in Central Europe. Unlike jam or marmalade, and unlike the German language, German ''Pflaumenmus'' (plum ...

'' jam of Austria and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, and the main ingredient in ''schmootsch'', a similar but spiced jam from

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. Fermented zwetschgen are distilled to make ''

eaux de vie An ''eau de vie'' ( French for spirit, §16, §17 ) is a clear, colourless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavor is typically very light. In English-speaking countries, ''eau de vie' ...

'': ''zwetschgenwasser'' or ''zwetsch'' (in Austria, Germany, and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

), ''zwetschgeler'' (in

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

, Italy), and ''quetsch'' (in Alsace, France). Carlsbad plums are a candied zwetschgen confection named after Carlsbad (now Karlovy Vary) in the Czech Republic. ''

Szilvásgombóc Knedle (plural from ), is a dish of boiled ball- or oval-shaped dumplings with a filling. The dough can be potato-based or made of choux pastry; sometimes it is curd-based. It is filled with fruits (whole strawberry, strawberries, prune plums, ...

'' and ''zwetschkenknödel'' are potato dumplings with a zwetschgen filling in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and Austria respectively, served as a sweet main course or as a dessert. At Christmas markets in Germany, for example the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, a ''zwetschgenmännla'' ("little zwetschge man") or ''zwetschgenweibla'' ("little zwetschge woman"), with a walnut head, a body of dried figs, and limbs of prunes (dried zwetschgen), is a popular treat. File:Zwetschgenholz.jpg, Section of prune plum tree File:Toastbrot-mit-Quark-und-Schmootsch.jpg, Toast with

quark A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei ...

and ''schmootsch'' File:Zwetschgendatschi.jpg, ''Zwetschgendatschi'' tart, a speciality of

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

, Germany File:Zwetschgenmännla.jpg, ''Zwetschgenmännla'' and ''zwetschgenweibla'' fruit dolls at the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt File:Rosales - Dried Prunus domestica 1.jpg, Prunes (dried prune plums) for sale at

Petroșani Petroșani (; Hungarian: ''Petrozsény''; German: ''Petroschen'') is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania, with a population of 31,044 as of 2021. The city has been associated with mining since the 19th century. History "Pietros" m ...

market in Romania

References

;Notes ;Sources *Some information in this article is from the corresponding article on German Wikipedia {{Authority control Plum cultigens