18th August: Plums

The Plum was celebrated on this date in the French Revolutionary calendar, which celebrated a different fruit, vegetable, tool or substance every day of the year. Here are a few things you may not know about plums:

1. A plum is a fruit of the subgenus Prunus of the genus Prunus. Their scientific name is Prunus domestica. They belong to the Rose family and are related to Peaches and Apricots.
2. Japanese samurai ate plums to combat battle fatigue.
3. Plum trees are grown on every continent except Antarctica.
4. The country which produces the most plums is China.
5. A dried plum is known as a prune. Both plums and prunes are known to have a laxative effect. Prunes are often marketed as "dried plums" because prunes have become known as something old people eat to keep them regular!
6. In central England, a cider-like alcoholic beverage known as plum jerkum is made from plums.
7. Plum seeds contain substances which can break down into hydrogen cyanide gas - something which is true of most members of the rose family.
8. There are between 19 and 40 species of plum, including damsons, greengages and Victoria plums.
9. Experts identified over one hundred individual varieties of plum stones on Henry VIII’s flagship Mary Rose, which sank in 1545 and was raised in the 1980's.
10. Mature plum fruit may have a dusty-white coating known as "wax bloom" or "flower". This is a natural wax coating to prevent the fruit from losing Water.