Varieties of insititia are found across Europe, but the name damson is derived from and most commonly applied to forms that are native to Great Britain.

In South and Southeast Asia, the term damson plum sometimes refers to jamblang, the fruit from a tree in the family Myrtaceae.

The name damson comes from Middle English damascene, damesene, damasin, damsin,[6] and ultimately from the Latin (prunum) damascenum, "plum of Damascus".

[7] One commonly stated theory is that damsons were first cultivated in antiquity in the area around the ancient city of Damascus, capital of modern-day Syria, and were introduced into England by the Romans.

[7][8] 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.

[11] As time progressed, a distinction developed between the varieties known as "damascenes" and the (usually smaller) types called "damsons", to the degree that by 1891 they were the subject of a lawsuit when a Nottinghamshire grocer complained about being supplied one when he had ordered the other.

[14] There is a body of anecdotal evidence that damsons were used in the British dye and cloth manufacturing industries in the 18th and 19th centuries, with examples occurring in every major damson-growing area (Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, Westmorland, Shropshire and Worcestershire).

[17] The main recorded use of damsons in the industrial era was in commercial jam-making, and orchards were widespread until the Second World War, after which changing tastes, the effect of wartime sugar rationing, and the relatively high cost of British-grown fruit caused a steep decline.

[18] A favourite of early colonists, the tree has escaped from gardens and can be found growing wild in states such as Idaho.

[22] Most individual damson varieties can be conclusively identified by examining the fruit's stone, which varies in shape, size and texture.

The tree blossoms with small, white flowers in early April in the Northern hemisphere and fruit is harvested from late August to September or October, depending on the cultivar.

Some varieties of damson, however, such as "Merryweather", are sweet enough to eat directly from the tree, and most are palatable raw if allowed to fully ripen.

Insititia varieties similar to damsons are used to make slivovitz, a distilled plum spirit made in Slavic countries.