Greengage

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Greengage

The Greengage (Prunus domestica
Plum

A plum or gage is a drupe tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and the side buds solitary , the flowers being grouped 1-5 together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one side, and a smooth stone....
or the Reine Claude) is an edible drupaceous

Drupe

In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovary....
fruit

Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
, a cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics; it is usually distinct from similar plants and when Plant propagation it retains those characteristics....
of the plum

Plum

A plum or gage is a drupe tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and the side buds solitary , the flowers being grouped 1-5 together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one side, and a smooth stone....
. It was developed in France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
from a green-fruited wild plum (Ganerik) originally found in Asia Minor. It is identified by its small, oval shape, smooth-textured flesh, and ranging in colour from green

Green

Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520?570-Nanometre....
to yellow

Yellow

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Encyclopedia

Drupe

Fruit

Cultivar

Plum

France

Green

Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520?570-Nanometre....
to yellow

Yellow

Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, but does not significantly stimulate the S cone cells; that is, light with much red and green but not very much blue....
, grown in temperate areas. They are known for their rich, confectionery flavour that causes them to be considered one of the finest dessert plums.

History and etymology

Sources attribute the origin of the name Greengage variably to several members of the Gage family. One account states that the cultivar was brought into England by the Rev. John Gage who obtained them from the Chartreuse Monastery

Grande Chartreuse

The Grande Chartreuse is the head monastery of the Carthusian order . It is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, to the north of the city of Grenoble, in the Commune in France of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse in the Is?re d?partement in France of France....
. "Green Gages" were imported into England

England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
from France in 1724 by Sir William Gage, 2nd Baronet (d. 1727), from whom they get their English name. Allegedly, the labels identifying the French plum trees were lost in transit to Gage's home in Bury St. Edmunds

Bury St. Edmunds

Bury St Edmunds is a market town in the county of Suffolk, England and formerly the county town of West Suffolk. It is the main town in the borough of St....
. Soon after, Greengages were cultivated in the American colonies

Colonial America

The term colonial history of the United States refers to the history of the land that would become the United States from the start of European colonization of the Americas to the time of independence from Europe, and especially to the history of the thirteen colonies which declared themselves independent in 1776....
, even being grown on the plantations of American presidents

President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States of the United States of Americas ....
(1732–1799) and Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States , the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States....
(1743–1826). However, their cultivation

Cultivation

In agriculture, cultivation is the process of geting fater plants on arable land. It is usually associated with large-scale agriculture, as opposed to small-scale gardening....
in North America

North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
has declined significantly since the eighteenth century.

The name Reine Claude (French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
for "Queen Claude"), which is included in its Latin scientific name

Binomial nomenclature

In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is called binominal nomenclature , binary nomenclature , or the binomial classification system....
and also is the name by which they are known in France, is named in honour of Claude

Claude of France

Claude of France , Queen Consort of France and Duke of Brittany in her own right, was the eldest daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany....
(1499–1524), the duchess of Brittany, who became the queen consort

Queen consort

A queen consort is the title given to the wife of a reigning Monarch. Queens consort usually share their husbands' Royal and noble ranks and hold the feminine equivalent of their husbands' monarchical titles....
of King Francis I of France

Francis I of France

Francis I , was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547.Francis I is considered to be France's first Renaissance monarch....
(1494–1547). They are also called la bonne reine (French for "the good Queen") in France.

Cultivation

Greengages breed more-or-less true from seed, and several similar cultivars produced from seedlings are now available; some of these include other plum cultivars in their parentage:

'Bryanston' (UK)
'Cambridge Gage' (UK)
'Denniston's Superb' (USA)
'Golden Transparent' (UK)
'Laxton's Gage' (UK)
'Laxton's Supreme' (UK)
'Ontario' (Canada)
'Reine Claude de Bavay' (Belgium)
'Transparent Gage' (France)
'Washington' (USA)