to most other european type plum cultivars they are about 3 6 cm in cheek to cheek diameter about 3 8 cm in suture diameter and 4 6 cm in length they are less pointed on both the stem and stigmatic ends than stanley fruits their skin color at maturity is greyed purple 87a with very little surface wax present to mask this appearance whereas the stanley skin color is blue group 103a in mottled portions without surface wax but surface wax often covers most of the skin and gives violet blue group 98d color in areas where the surface wax is undisturbed castleton 39 s flesh color is yellow green 153d at full tree ripe similar to stanley but then turns to yellow green 152c as it approaches over ripe status pits fig3 are usually completely free from the flesh at hard ripe picking stage their shape is oblong with more bluntness on the stigmatic end than on the stem end giving the an almond like appearance whereas stanley 39 s pit often partially clings to the flesh and is more symmetrical thinner and distinctly more pointed on both ends the pit dimensions of castleton are 2 5 u00d7 1 7 u00d7 0 9 cm whereas stanley 39 s similar measurements are 3 0 u00d7 1 4 u00d7 0 8 cm a typical fruit is shown in fig2 fruits of castleton resist fruit cracking along the suture which is a common negative phenomenon with stanley the flavor.