Someone asked me this question. Do you know? Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by Alex (alexmojee@.com) on Monday, April 13, 2015 at 02:59:10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- referer: http://www.backyardgardener.com/searchsw.html phone: comments: Hello, Thank you for your website. I am looking for the botanical name for a sour green plum from Iran called "Goje Sabz" I would like to buy the tree and plant in my garden but I am getting different names online such as "Cherry Plum tree", "Sour Green Plum tree", etc.. I wonder if you have the actual botanical name for this particular variety of plum. Many thanks.
They are a Greengage, picked before ripe. Should be commonly available at most nurseries under that name.
I believe there is indeed a wild plum species that is native to Iran. The fruit are small sour and green, not the most juicy, nor are they very sweet, slightly astringent, almost just a little difficult and not extremely exciting to eat but I would say edible and flavor is not bad. (I had the opportunity to taste some of these fruits, though it's possibly that what I tasted might not have been the ripest possible, though I don't think the fruits were unripe) This wild "Persian sour green plum" species is where most of the ancestry of the (European) Greengage plum family originated from. (I have also had the opportunity to taste an unknown variety of greengage plum that seems closest to the wild Persian species, perhaps 'Reine Claude Verte' would be a guess. It was not very sweet, but sweeter and more edible than the Persian sour green plums. It has what could be described as an exquisite plum flavor but like only the dry scratchy part taken from the aroma of a plum, not the fruity part - the type of flavor most characteristic of the skin of a plum, lots of "complexity") It was unusual. In my opinion that type of flavor would have a lot of promise if it were combined with some flavorful tartness and sweetness found in other plums, along with more of the regular fruity plum aroma. Overall, I would probably snack on these if they were fresh off the tree, and although part of the flavor is in a way exquisite and intriguing it still doesn't seem like something that most people would be extremely excited and enthusiastic about eating) I do not think this wild plum species has actually been given its own official specific taxonomical species name. I could go into more discussion about that, but the point is that this plum does not seem to have a common name that is specific to the species variety. Another bit of trivia is that these Persian sour green plums have a significantly higher cyanide concentration than other plum species (which is nothing to worry about, so long as you're not eating the pits, and may actually help contribute to the flavor). Another thing to realize is that these greengage plums are not the most vigorous growing and can be more difficult to grow. The species prefers a warmer climate, even though it still needs an adequate amount of winter chill (think about the climate of Iran).
You might want to look up Prunus vachuschtii. That might be the species name that those in the country of Georgia use to refer to this wild green plum ancestor. However, it is not commonly used to refer to European cultivated greengage plum. One Green World sells it Persian Green Plum - One Green World I've seen a just a few places refer to it as "Prunus speciosa", but that's really a non-specific name, and more commonly is used to refer to a completely different Prunus species. (There's a tendency to just throw anything wild that does not easily fit into other established groups into the "speciosa" category) You can buy cuttings of wood here: Prunus domestica, 'Persian Green' plum scion – Cricket Hill Garden They're known as janerik in Lebanon and Syria. (Un)ripe Fruits Of Spring
