From memory nonetheless.

So, here's the thing.

About 10 years ago, I was staying in a house in north-central Florida (Gainesville).  In the front yard was a tree that was old.  Really old.  But it was only 12' tall or so and about 6' around in a big tree form, not a bush.  The trunk was about as big around as my leg.  It had very light grey branches that were rough and old feeling.  It was a fruiting tree, it bore lots of fruit on the branches, none of the fruits had stems.  I never actually tasted the fruit, and now I wish I had.  I'm sure the tree is no longer there.

The fruit was similar to a table grape but smaller.  The skin was translucent just like a grape and had a powdery finish to it that wiped off easily to a nice smooth piece of skin - it was not opaque like a Loquat tree.  The fruit started out green when immature, changed to a translucent orange color as it was ripening, then started to get blushed with a reddish purple color when it was fully ripe.  There were NO dots on the skin of the fruit (it wasn't a Goumi berry), the skin was perfectly smooth with no freckles, dots, spots, bumps or anything.  The berries were very soft and squishy when ripe. 

I think I remember the leaves of the tree being smaller, like an Live Oak tree an thick and firm.  I do not remember the fruits growing in clusters, they were individual fruits spread out on the branches.  The fruit grew directly to the branch, there was NO stem like you would find on a cherry.

For some reason I have it in my head that the fruit was probably Asian.

So, I'm curious if anyone recognizes this description? 

I figure if I can get some names I can Google around to try and figure out what the heck it was.  Next time I'm in Gainesville, FL I'm going to take a look at the house (a rental) to see if the tree is still there. 

Jason,

Google: Seagrape or Sea Grape

It's probably a Jaboticaba, It's atropical fruit native to Brazil I believe.

Jason
The only thing I can think that somewhat resembles that fruit is our native plum.
this is too far north for sea grape
Look up flatwoods plum or Chickasaw plum

Jim,

I was way wrong. Was thinking of something else. Googled Seagrape and it comes in bunches just like grapes.

Hence the name sea grape LOL

@rafed, It's definitely not a sea grape. 

@Bass, it's not Jaboticaba, I've seen those (they're weird), too dark in color.

@Jim, that looks about right.  The only difference is, I don't remember the fruits having the typical "butt crack" on them like peaches and pears.  The fruits were no larger than my thumbnail, and I swore they were more perfectly roundish, maybe slightly oval. 

Looks more like the pictures of the flatwoods plum than the chicksaw plum.

Don't remember it having that typical 'cats eye' leaf shape that you see on stone fruits all the time either, which is why I say the flatwoods plum fits.   But ... that was a long time ago, maybe my brain is wonky.

Sounds like Jaboticaba to me too

@Barry, the fruits don't grow from the trunk and aren't black like that.

I'm 90% positive it's the Flatwoods Plum.  I'm just having a hard time getting over the shape of the fruit, but everything else is exactly what I remember (color, leaf shape, translucency, how the fruit sits on the branch, etc.)

Bass
Jaboticaba was my first thought too but Gainesville is way out of its zone if not I would have a bunch I love that fruit.
Jason the plum does have a stem some are much shorter than others though but the fruit has a large stone so they are not soft when ripe.
This is going to drive me crazzzy

Yeah, there may have been a stem, but I don't recall it being significant.

Drive you crazy?!  It's driving me crazy trying to remember for sure.  I'm about ready to make up an excuse to drive down to our Gainesville office to do some 'work' just to see if the tree is there.  I'll pull the address from Google Maps/street view and see if I can get one of my buddies to drive by.

I just looked up the Native American Plum (prunus americana) and that looks like a good fit.  It's well distributed through Gainesville according to the university site I was at.  The fruit looks to be more true to color.  Trying to remember if the tree had thorns....

That tree didn't spread (volunteers), which is the only part that doesn't seem to fit.  We never did yard work at that house, you'd figure it would've been loaded with little trees in that case.

Well, I can tell you this.  Google has the place in their Street View.  If you get off at the Newberry Rd exit (from I-75) and head eastbound, turn northbound on NW 36th Drive, it's the 8th house on the right with the huge oak and azaleas in front.  The tree is (or was) in front of the windows, and appears to have still been so when this picture was taken @ Google.   House number is 303, it belongs to a couple in Babylon, NY.

Summer Home I gather for them. Maybe the ghosts from Amityville stay there for the winter. 

Jason
Some trees seldom have suckers the ones that sucker make thickets but many native plums stand alone.
You would not notice the butt crack either like you would on a european plum
If I lived closer I would drive by for you

Jason could it be an autumn olive??

Autumn olives are way too small