Fruit late, season short; one and seven-eighths inches by one and one-half inches in size, long-oval, enlarged on the suture side, slightly compressed, halves unequal; cavity very shallow and narrow, abrupt; suture shallow to medium; apex bluntly pointed; color purplish-black, overspread with very thick bloom; dots numerous, small, light brown, somewhat conspicuous; stem inserted at one side of the base, one inch in length, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, somewhat tough, separating readily; flesh greenish-yellow changing to yellow, juicy, firm, subacid, slightly aromatic; very good to best; stone free, smaller than the cavity, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, flattened, roughened and pitted, necked at the base, abruptly tipped at the apex; ventral suture prominent, heavily ridged, sometimes strongly winged; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.
JAPEX
Triflora ×
1. N. Y. Exp. Sta. Rpt. 12:611. 1893.
Japanese Seedling X. 1.
This plum, parentage unknown, was received from Burbank by the New York Experiment Station in 1893 for testing, under the name Japanese Seedling X. While in no way wonderfully remarkable, its earliness, attractive color, good quality and productiveness have been such that it has been retained, the cumbersome name having been changed to Japex. The majority of the characters of the variety are plainly those of Triflora, yet the fruits in appearance would lead one to call it a Domestica.
Tree very large, vigorous, vasiform, very productive; branches slender, sparingly thorny; leaf-scars thick; leaf-buds unusually short; leaves obovate or ovate, two and one-quarter inches wide, four inches long; margin finely serrate varying to crenate, with few dark glands; blooming season short; flowers appearing before the leaves; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs.
Fruit very early, season short; one and one-eighth inches in diameter, roundish, dark purplish-red or purplish-black, covered with medium thick bloom; flesh light yellow, very juicy, somewhat melting, sweet next to the skin, but tart near the pit, aromatic; good; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, oval.
JEFFERSON
