The exact origin of Prunus domestica subsp. insititia is debatable - it is often thought to have arisen in wild crosses 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. A Victorian nurseryman commented that "the Damson seems to be a fruit peculiar to England. We do not meet with it abroad, nor is any mention of it made in any of the pomological works or nurseryman's catalogues on the Continent". 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. Having historical evidence like this is so useful for botanists who are trying to understand how many archaeophyte species (considered ancient introductions) present themselves in wild situations in the British countryside. For, although the damson can be found growing supposedly wild in hedgerows, it is always within close proximity to a dwelling or farmstead, and although the seeds are perfectly viable and can grow into new plants, the species doesn’t expand into the true wild. Larger fruit (larger than berries) like these tend to not disperse far from the tree. Too big for birds. Wild boar were the main means of dispersal for larger fruit seeds.
The epithet "insititia" means "grafted" presumably because historically these were usually used as the rootstock for grafting other plums onto.
In addition to providing fruit, the damson makes a tough stock-proof hedge or windbreak, and it became the favoured hedging tree in certain parts of the country such as Shropshire and Kent.
