Cultivar 89: Tecumseh

Tecumseh is a hardy plum cultivar from N. E. Hansen's South Dakota breeding work. It was introduced in 1918 from a cross of 'Shiro' x 'Surprise.' Hansen placed it among the hybrid plums, and later prairie references kept the same parentage and South Dakota origin. Prairie literature also treated it as a cultivar worth growing beyond its place of origin, including the Canadian Prairies. [S1] [S5] [S6]

The record points to Brookings, South Dakota, as its source. A later prairie fruit guide says it was developed at the Experimental Station there in 1918. Hansen's own introduction bulletin calls it a fine extra large plum and says it became popular over a wide area and north into Manitoba. He also classified it as a hybrid Japanese plum x native plum and noted that 'Shiro' was already a complex Burbank hybrid, which gave Tecumseh an unusually mixed background. [S4] [S1] [S6]

Sources describe the fruit as bright red with a bluish bloom and yellow flesh. A prairie production guide gives the fruit size as about 3.5 cm and says it is good for eating. The Morden notes describe it as medium sized, round ovate, firm, juicy, sweetish, and subacid, with quality good to very good. Hansen's earlier bulletin calls it extra large, so the size record is not fully consistent. [S4] [S7] [S1]

Its season is early. Prairie sources place ripening in mid August, and Hansen called the season very early. Morden notes tie that timing to southern Manitoba. Hansen also wrote that the tree does not overbear and is usually an annual bearer. [S4] [S7] [S1]

Tree and adaptation notes are generally favorable in prairie use. Tecumseh was recommended in South Dakota under Hansen plums for all zones and large hybrids, and Agriculture Canada later listed it among plums for the more favorable zones of the Prairie Provinces. At Morden it was described as a moderate grower, hardy, and productive. One earlier Hansen note says it should go south rather than north, so the hardiness record is mixed. Later prairie recommendations and Manitoba performance still show that it was grown successfully in colder regions. [S2] [S4] [S7] [S6]

Tecumseh matters in prairie fruit history as one of the named South Dakota plum hybrids that linked American breeding work with later prairie orchard use. It appears in the same hardy fruit context as Kahinta, Waneta, and other Hansen plums, but its own record is distinct: an early red plum with yellow flesh, good fresh quality, regular bearing, and a long prairie history that kept it indexed and relisted decades after its introduction. [S1] [S2] [S5]

Summary source basis

• S1: New Hardy Fruits for the Northwest
• S2: South Dakota Fruit Garden
• S3: {Replace with the Title of Your Dissertation}
• S4: Tree fruit production for the Prairie Provinces
• S5: An index of fruit cultivars tested or developed on the Canadian prairies.
• S6: Plant Introductions
• S7: TreeFruitsGrownInPrairieOrchards WRLeslie 1946 HQ

This summary currently draws chiefly from New Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, with 6 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“As Shiro is one of Burbank's hybrid Japan plums combining four species, the cross with Surprise is described as an amalgamation of five species.”
— ^[1]

“Indexed entry with reference to Bulletin 224, page 27.”
— ^[1]

“Listed in the table of contents under 'Hybrid Plums.'”
— ^[1]

“It does not overbear, so it is usually an annual bearer.”
— ^[1]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• Its parentage is Shiro x Surprise.
• Parentage given as Shiro x Surprise.
• 'Shiro' x 'Surprise' (complex hybrid).
• Shiro x Surprise.
• From Shiro crossed with pollen of Surprise.
• South Dakota Experiment Station, 1918, Shiro x Surprise.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• Fragrant Plums In the first hybrids of our native plum (Prunus Am ericana) with the Chinese apricot-plum (Prunus Simonii), there were 16 seedlingsNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p25
• These three sister varieties (Kahinta, Waneta and Tawena) are hybrids of the Japanese plum (Prunus salicina, Lindl., PNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p25
• Of these Kaga, Hanska, Toka, lnkpa, Tokata were distributed Hanska was introduced in 1908, Kaga and lnkpa in 1909, Toka in 1911, Tokata in 1912New Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p25
• The trees possess the hardy characteristics of Prunus Ame ricana and bud or graft well on native plum seedlingsNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p25

Taxonomy context: Genus: Prunus | open genus tree

Related cultivars mentioned in source context