Cultivar 383: Bender

Bender is an Americana plum. It was remembered as a large, very firm native type fruit rather than a delicate dessert plum. The South Dakota bulletin also records it under the name Paul Wolf and says it had long been grown around Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its main trait was firmness. The fruit was said to handle in market "almost as roughly as potatoes," which helps explain why it was noted among northern plums. [S1]

The source does not name a breeder or introduction program for Bender. It places the variety in long standing Upper Midwest cultivation, not as a recent station release. At the South Dakota station, three trees planted in 1898 proved to be heavy bearers. The bulletin adds that they did not overbear or break down under crop load, which suggests a useful balance of vigor and production. [S1]

The fruit is described as large, dark red when fully ripe, and covered with a light blue bloom. It is oblong to conical and tapers to a blunt apex. It is often somewhat irregular from lateral compression, with a deep cavity and usually a broad line suture. The dots are minute, gray, and numerous. The flesh is light yellow, very firm, and sweet, with quality rated only fairly good to fair. The skin is thick, tough, and not especially acerb. The fruit is freestone, with a long, regular pit pointed at both ends. [S1]

Bender ripened at the South Dakota station around early September, with recorded dates of September 4 in 1902, September 3 in 1903, and September 5 in 1904. It was also reported as the best keeper after picking of any variety fruited there in 1904. That combination of firmness, shipping toughness, and keeping quality points to a practical market and storage plum more than a high quality fresh eating one. [S1]

The tree is described as heavy, low, open, and strong in growth, with abundant bright green foliage. The bulletin gives no direct zone rating, but its performance in South Dakota station plantings and its long association with Minneapolis place it in the northern plains and Upper Midwest hardiness context. A 1902 plate of native plums in the same bulletin also includes Bender as a photographed specimen, which shows it was important enough to be represented visually among notable native plum sorts. [S1]

Summary source basis

• S1: Plums in South Dakota

This summary currently draws chiefly from Plums in South Dakota.

Featured source descriptions

“Fruit is oblong, conical, tapering to a blunt apex, irregular from lateral compression, with a deep regular cavity and usually a broad-line suture.”
— ^[1]

“Fruit ripe 1902 September 4; 1903 September 3; 1904 September 5.”
— ^[1]

“This variety is also known as the Paul Wolf.”
— ^[1]

“The flesh is light yellow, very firm, and the flavor sweet; quality fairly good to fair.”
— ^[1]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• No direct breeding_cross claim text yet.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• Bender, Americana. HISTORY.-This variety is also known as the Paul Wolf. Has been grown for a long time around Minneapolis, Minnesota and is noteworthy from being so firm in texture that it may be handled in marketing almost as roughly as potatoes.Plums in South Dakota, p11
• Bender, Americana. HISTORY.-This variety is also known as the Paul Wolf. Has been grown for a long time around Minneapolis, Minnesota and is noteworthy from being so firm in texture that it may be handled in marketing almost as roughly as potatoes.Plums in South Dakota, p11
• Bender, Americana. HISTORY.-This variety is also known as the Paul Wolf. Has been grown for a long time around Minneapolis, Minnesota and is noteworthy from being so firm in texture that it may be handled in marketing almost as roughly as potatoes.Plums in South Dakota, p11
• Bender, Americana. HISTORY.-This variety is also known as the Paul Wolf. Has been grown for a long time around Minneapolis, Minnesota and is noteworthy from being so firm in texture that it may be handled in marketing almost as roughly as potatoes.Plums in South Dakota, p11

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context