The oldest of the sweet-sour Duke cherries, this medium sized dark red cherry came to American with the English colonists. It was widely planted in the upper South, esteemed for its “melting, rich and juicy” flavor that combined sugar and acid in a congenial manner [Frederick Nursery, Catalogue of Fruits 1897, 19.] In Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland in ripened around May 20, suggesting that the fruit was named for its month of ripening. False: the name is an English bungle of the French ‘Medoc,’ the region whence the fruit originated. The fruit is obtusely heart shaped and form in clusters. When perfectly ripe the skin of the fruit appears a dense deep purple. Its one defect is a tendency for certain branches of the fruit to ripen substantially before others, requiring several harvests [“Cherries: with Illustrations of Eight Varieties,” Southern Cultivator (August 1847), 116-17.] While the variety is available from at least three English commercial nurseries, it is not sold in the United States. Specimens are maintained in the Cornell pomological collection.

"May Duke Cherry—A compact, vigorous tree; fruit large red and when full ripe, moldly sub-acid. One of the best." (Hillenmeyer Bluegrass Nursery, Lexington, KY 1909). “An old, well known, excellent variety; large, dark red, juicy, sub-acid, rich. Tree hardy, vigorous and fruitful; ripens over a long period; fine for dwarfs and pyramids. Middle of June. (Kentucky Nursery Louisville, KY 1897, 22).

Nurseries offering May Duke in the South prior to 1920:

Alabama Nursery, Huntsville, AL 1900. American Exotic Nursery, Seven Oaks, FL 1895. Atlanta Nursery, Atlanta GA, 1895. Bluegrass Nursery, Lexington, KY 1909. Blue Ribbon Nursery, Louisville, KY 1905. Cherokee Nursery, Waycross, GA 1893. Chesmore Seed, St. Joseph, MO 1902.  Clingman Nursery, Kiethville, LA 1908.  Downer Nursery, Fairview, KY 1870.  Eastern Shore Nursery, Denton, MD 1900.  Emporia Nursery, Emporia, VA 1904.  Excelsior Nursery, Rome, GA 1890.  Frederick Nursery, Frederick, MD 1897. Fruitlands, Augusta, GA 1911.  Greensboro Nursery, Greensboro, NC 1900-1910.  Guilford Nursery, Vandalia, NC 1897.  Hopewell Nursery, Fredericksburg, VA 1859. Huntsville Nursery, Huntsville, AL 1892.  Kentucky Nursery, Louisville, KY 1897.  Munson Hill Nursery, Falls Church, VA 1897. Old Dominion Nursery, Richmond, VA 1894.  Pomaria Nursery, Pomaria, SC 1856. Richmond Commercial Nursery, Richmond, VA 1897.  Smith's Nursery, Franklin, TN 1892. Spring Hill Nursery, Charlottesville, VA 1890. Staunton Nursery, Staunton, VA 1858.  

U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705, Amanda Newton, 1914.

David S. Shields