Apples by Frank Browning
Scientists believe that the apple known today as Malus domestica descended from Malus sieversii, a wild apple that originated and still grows in the Caucasus Mountains in the central Asian country of Kazakhstan. This fruit was probably hard, misshapen, inedible and most likely poisonous (s ee source 1). It certainly has to be among the oldest.įrom fossils trapped in peat for millions of years, paleobotanists have reason to believe that a plum ( Prunus) crossed with meadowsweet ( Spiraea) to produce the first apple. The Apple ( Malus) is arguably the Rose family’s most celebrated, edible, fruit-bearing plant.
It encompasses genera that produce gorgeous flowers and prolific fruit, many of which have been adapted to climates beyond their origins. The Rose family ( Rosaceae) should be knighted as the plant family of beauty and bounty.
#Apples by Frank Browning full
Winesap apple in full bloom (Janice Tucker)īy Janice Tucker with thanks to Barbara Goede for sharing her knowledge and notes, which contributed to this article.