Cultivar 151: Oziya

Oziya is a plum hybrid from the South Dakota breeding program. It is described as a cross of Red June, an early Japanese plum, and De Soto, a native plum from southwestern Wisconsin.[S2] [S3] Later prairie variety notes list it as a South Dakota Experiment Station introduction from 1912.[S4] The name is said to be a Sioux word meaning "to refresh," giving the cultivar a distinct place in Hansen era northern plum breeding.[S2]

Sources describe Oziya as an early, large fruited hybrid selected for quality and earliness.[S2] In 1911 it was reported as the station's earliest large plum, with the best fruit reaching about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.[S2] The fruit is described as very bright red, with light yellow flesh and excellent quality.[S2] Later prairie notes say it was good for dessert and especially good for jam. One early bulletin says the jam had a bright cherry color and superb quality.[S2] [S4]

Its practical value seems tied as much to season as to quality. Hansen wrote that it should be useful for market as an extra early plum.[S2] South Dakota Extension later included Oziya among the Hansen large hybrid plums recommended for all fruit growing zones in the state, suggesting broad regional usefulness at least in recommendation tables.[S1]

Tree notes are brief but useful. A prairie cultivar list describes the tree as spreading, with rather tender fruit buds.[S4] That caution tempers the broad South Dakota recommendation. Oziya was clearly considered adaptable on the northern plains, but the buds were not fully reliable under all conditions.[S1] [S4]

In broader lineage terms, Oziya belongs with the Japanese plum x native plum hybrids.[S3] Hansen explicitly treated it as a true hybrid of those two plum groups.[S2] He also noted that Skuya, once thought to share the same pedigree, was later considered a sand cherry hybrid instead, which helps keep Oziya's parentage distinct.[S2]

Oziya appears to have been valued for its size, color, and early season, but later prairie writers also said it was being replaced by newer and more reliable varieties.[S4] No direct hardiness zone is stated in the cited sources. The strongest evidence is its South Dakota recommendation across zones, balanced against the note that its fruit buds were tender.[S1] [S4]

Summary source basis

• S1: South Dakota Fruit Garden
• S2: Progress in Plant Breeding
• S3: Plant Introductions
• S4: TreeFruitsGrownInPrairieOrchards WRLeslie 1946 HQ

This summary currently draws chiefly from Progress in Plant Breeding, with 3 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“The flesh was light yellow and of excellent quality.”
— ^[3]

“Oziya is the Sioux Indian name for "to refresh."”
— ^[3]

“Oziya was our earliest large plum in 1911.”
— ^[3]

“The original tree and the few trees propagated from it bore heavily in the season of 1911.”
— ^[3]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• Red June plum x DeSoto plum.
• South Dakota Experiment Station, 1912, Red June X De Soto.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• HANSEN PLUMS FOR ALL ZONES | Large Hybrids | other | OziyaSouth Dakota Fruit Garden (visual sample pages 9-11), p1
• HANSEN PLUMS FOR ALL ZONES | Large Hybrids | other | OziyaSouth Dakota Fruit Garden (visual sample pages 9-11), p1
• HANSEN PLUMS FOR ALL ZONES | Large Hybrids | other | OziyaSouth Dakota Fruit Garden (visual sample pages 9-11), p1
• HANSEN PLUMS FOR ALL ZONES | Large Hybrids | other | OziyaSouth Dakota Fruit Garden (visual sample pages 9-11), p1

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context