I'm a student from Sir Winston Chuchill Secondary and I'm doing a project in biology. I was wondering is there a difference between prunes (fresh) and prune plums? It would really help my project if prune plums were a different variety from prunes and that pune plums were a grafted variety of prunes and plums, but I am not sure. please tell me if you have any infomation on this.
Prunes are a group of plums chacterized by an oblong shape, dark purple skin (often with a blue, waxy "bloom" or coating) and a very high sugar content (the high sugar allows for sun-drying without fermenting at the pit). These are generally referred to as European plums or prune plums, to distinguish them from Japanese and hybrid plums, which are generally rounder in shape and with watery flesh. Plums are often grafted (actually, more commonly budded, which is a type of grafting) on Japanese myrobalan plum (Prunus cerasifera - the same species as the common purple-leaf plum) rootstocks. The prunes you can buy locally may be the same varieties as the prune plums that are sold fresh, although if the prunes are from California (and they probably are), they are most likely a more heat-resistant variety than would be grown locally (in Vancouver). There are many excellent resources available on plums and plum cultivation. Some of the best information still seems to be found in books. Check your school library or local VPL branch.
