On Apr 9, 11:02*am, Sacha wrote:
On 2012-04-09 09:39:01 +0100, Dave Hill said:

On Apr 8, 10:43*pm, bobharvey wrote:
why is a greengage a green gage? *are there redgages? blackgages?

Is 'gage' from the same root as the 'gog' bit of 'goosegogs'?

Amazing what you find if you bother to Google your question.
Sources attribute the origin of the name "greengage" variably to
several members of the Gage family. One account states that the
cultivar was brought into England by the Rev. John Gage who obtained
them from the Chartreuse Monastery.[1] "Green Gages" were imported
into England from France in 1724 by Sir William Gage, 7th Baronet,
from whom they get their English name.[2] Allegedly, the labels
identifying the French plum trees were lost in transit to Gage's home
in Bury St. Edmunds.

Presumably the French origin gives them the name Reine Claude in that
country. *Now I'll have to Google on who she was! And it seems that she
was the Duchess of Brittany in the 1500s and the queen consort of King
Francis 1 of France. *Amazing what one can learn from horticulture!! ;-)
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.comwww.hillhousenurseryt earoom.com
South Devon


Rev. John Gage, Sir William Gage, The Duchess of Brittany ...
You can see why it's called Horti culture