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Originally Posted by nightshade  I have a couple of trees near me the fruit ripens progressively so that there are at least three colours on each tree at anyone time the purple bullaces are so sweet and fragrant. I must remember to collect some fruit to grow my own |
At the risk of promoting our own website, we have a bullace description and pictures -
here. We have both Bullace and Damson within a few meters of each other, but the Damson page is not written up yet.
Bullace is roundly oval in shape, light green, with a bloom, and a "crease" down one side. It ripens late in the year, later than Damson, and makes a good jam. They are best picked as they are just going soft, leave them longer and they begin to rot going a dark purple with a mould growth. We do not find the Bullace changes colour as it ripens, it just gets softer. Once they are purple they are rotten. You may have a sub species or a cross.
Damson is rounder, dark purple to start with, but with a light coloured flesh, again make a good jam.
We use both the Bullace and the Damson along with Blackberry, Rowan and Crab Apple to make various jams and jellies as fundraisers for the group, 70lbs this year and weve still 20lbs of blackberries in the freezer !.