Cultivar 142: Underwood

Underwood is a plum from the University of Minnesota. Later prairie literature describes it as a Minnesota hybrid, and South Dakota recommendations list it for trial in all three fruit growing zones there.[S1] [S3] Its recorded parentage is Shiro x Wyant, though one prairie source spells the second parent Wynant.[S3] [S5] Sources place its introduction in 1920 or 1921.[S3] [S4] It appears to have been valued as an early, attractive, good quality hardy plum for northern gardens and orchards.[S1] [S5]

The main origin record places Underwood at the University of Minnesota.[S3] A prairie orchard source links it more specifically to the Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm.[S5] South Dakota extension later listed it for trial in all three state zones, including the northern prairie section. South Dakota nursery listings also show that multiple nurseries offered it, rather than it remaining a rare experimental sort.[S1] [S2]

Sources describe the fruit as medium to fairly large, about 1 5/8 by 1 1/2 inches, and cordate to round conic in form, with yellow skin overlaid by bright to rich red and covered by a light bloom.[S3] [S5] The flesh is yellow to golden yellow, tender, melting, juicy, and sweet.[S3] [S5] Quality is rated good to very good.[S3] [S5] One detailed bulletin notes that the fruit is clingstone, with thin but tough skin and an attractive finish.[S3]

Underwood blooms in early May and ripens early in the season. Sources place ripening in early August or the third week of August.[S3] [S5] The tree is described as very vigorous, fairly spreading, medium sized, and fairly productive to productive, with good fruit adherence.[S3] [S5] At Morden it was reported usually hardy.[S5] South Dakota recommendations for trial across all three zones, including the colder prairie region, support its reputation as a northern plum, though the packet does not give a formal hardiness zone.[S1] [S5]

In broader context, Underwood belongs to the northern plum tradition built around hardy Prunus material moving through Minnesota and prairie evaluation networks.[S1] [S3] Much later, it was still maintained in University of Minnesota material for winter hardy Prunus work, where it appears in seed collection, germination, and pollen studies.[S4] Those later records do not change its parentage, but they show that Underwood remained relevant as breeding and research material long after its introduction.[S4]

Summary source basis

• S1: South Dakota Fruit Garden
• S2: Nursery Plants Available from South Dakota Nurseries
• S3: 9c684c14 7509 4b78 a803 0bf01a64aa28
• S4: {Replace with the Title of Your Dissertation}
• S5: TreeFruitsGrownInPrairieOrchards WRLeslie 1946 HQ

This summary currently draws chiefly from 9c684c14 7509 4b78 a803 0bf01a64aa28, with 7 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“Form: cordate; apex: pointed; cavity: moderately deep; suture: moderately deep; stem: 1/2 inch long, slender.”
— ^[8]

“The tree has good fruit adherence, blooms early May, and ripens early August.”
— ^[8]

“Stone: 5/8 x 9/16 inch, oval, moderately plump, cling.”
— ^[8]

“'Underwood' 1,2,7,18,19,20,22,23,32”
— ^[7]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• Parentage: Shiro x Wyant.
• Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm, 1920, Shiro x Wynant.
• Listed in Table 2 as P. salicina hybrid x P. americana.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• The Underwood is valuable because of its large, early fruit and annual bearing. It is the earliest of the large Plums, attaining a size of 1 3/4 inches in diameter.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p8
• The Underwood is valuable because of its large, early fruit and annual bearing. It is the earliest of the large Plums, attaining a size of 1 3/4 inches in diameter.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p8
• The Underwood is valuable because of its large, early fruit and annual bearing. It is the earliest of the large Plums, attaining a size of 1 3/4 inches in diameter.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p8
• The Underwood is valuable because of its large, early fruit and annual bearing. It is the earliest of the large Plums, attaining a size of 1 3/4 inches in diameter.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p8

Taxonomy context: Genus: Prunus | open genus tree

Related cultivars mentioned in source context