The damson () or damson plum (Prunus domestica subsp. insititia, or sometimes Prunus insititia), also archaically called the "damascene", is an edible drupaceous fruit, a subspecies of the plum tree. Varieties of insititia are found across Europe, but the name damson is derived from and most commonly applied to forms that are native to Great Britain. Damsons are relatively small ovoid plum-like fruit with a distinctive, somewhat astringent taste, and are widely used for culinary purposes, particularly in fruit preserves and jams. In South and Southeast Asia, the term damson plum sometimes refers to jamblang, the fruit from a tree in the family Myrtaceae. The name "mountain damson" or "bitter damson" was also formerly applied in Jamaica to the tree Simarouba amara. History The name damson comes from Middle English damascene, damesene, damasin, damsin, and ultimately from the Latin (prunum) damascenum, "plum of Damascus". One commonly stated theory is that damsons were first cultivated in antiquity in the area around the ancient city of Damascus, capital of modern-day Syria, and were introduced into England by the Romans. The historical link between the Roman-era damascenum and the north and west European damson is rather tenuous despite the adoption of the older name. The damascenum described by Roman and Greek authors of late antiquity has more of the character of a sweet dessert plum, not fitting well to the damson plum. Remnants of damsons are sometimes found during archaeological digs of ancient Roman camps across England, and they have clearly been cultivated, and consumed, for centuries. Damson stones have been found in an excavation in Hungate, York, and dated to the late period of Anglo-Saxon England. The exact origin of Prunus domestica subsp. insititia is still extremely debatable: it is often thought to have arisen in wild crosses, possibly in Asia Minor, between the sloe, Prunus spinosa, and the cherry plum, Prunus cerasifera. Despite this, tests on cherry plums and damsons have indicated that it is possible that the damson developed directly from forms of sloe, perhaps via the round-fruited varieties known as bullaces, and that the cherry plum did not play a role in its parentage. Insititia plums of various sorts, such as the German Kriechenpflaume or French quetsche, occur across Europe and the word "damson" is sometimes used to refer to them in English, but many of the English varieties from which the name "damson" was originally taken have both