JEFFREY DUKE

Prunus avium × Prunus cerasus

This old variety, which has almost passed from cultivation, may have had its origin in France about the middle of the Eighteenth Century, though more likely it originated in England much earlier. Leroy mentions a Royale cherry which was introduced from England to France about 1730 and was first grown by M. le Normand in the garden of Louis XV. The name Royale was first used by the French about 1735 from the fact that it was grown in the royal gardens and since that time this name has clung to the variety in most of the French plantations. According to English writers, the variety was brought to notice in England by Jeffrey, proprietor of the Brompton Nursery at Brompton Park, England, and from that time it was known as Jeffrey's Duke. English pomologists maintain that Jeffrey renamed the old Cherry Duke of England, giving it his name. Jeffrey Duke appeared on the American Pomological Society's fruit catalog list in 1862 but was dropped in 1871. It is doubtful if the variety can now be found in America. The following description is compiled from the authors given in the references:

Tree large, vigorous, very upright, unusually compact, slow-growing, productive; branches very numerous, stocky, straight, thickly set with fruit-spurs; internodes short; branchlets very short; buds closely set; leaves numerous, medium in size, oval or obovate, acuminate; margin finely and irregularly serrate; petiole short, slender, with small, flattened or globose glands; blooming season late; flowers small, very open.

Fruit matures in mid-season, usually attached in pairs; medium in size, roundish, slightly flattened at the apex and base; suture a well-marked line; color lively red becoming dark red or almost black when fully ripe; stem slender, inserted in a moderately broad, deep cavity; skin thin; flesh firm but tender, yellowish-amber, with abundant colored juice, slightly stringy, highly flavored; good in quality; stone small, roundish, tinged with red.