Apples that hang on the tree well into July (at least) while still retaining great eating quality are what I’d describe as ‘superlate’ apples. Other people have called them ‘Long keeping apples‘ (but I think that is a misleading name as usually ‘keeping’ / ‘keeper’ usually refers to storage off-tree). I think these traits are important for food security, as these days relatively few houses have the space to store apples in a cool and dry place. Plus who doesn’t love physically picking apples in July.
So far I’d never come across any roadside apples that I’d describe as superlate until this one. I found this apple somewhat hidden in Weka Pass 2 days ago, still holding a decent crop of apples (more than in the photo). The tree is on a fenceline by itself, so I’m pretty sure it’s a seedling.
These apples are completely crunchy and juicy, no dryness or flouriness. In fact, some of the apples were still not fully ripe! I would describe the flavour as being slightly tart and lower-medium sweetness. On the spectrum between a Gala/Braeburn and Granny Smith, this one would be roughly 1/4 – 1/2 of the way towards Granny Smith (maybe it’s a Granny Smith seedling? As Granny Smith is also known to store on the tree very late).
These apples I think could hang on the tree another 2-3 weeks, but also the birds were getting into them so maybe by then they’d all be pecked through.
Very keen to hear about what other apple varieties folks have or know about that are still hanging on the tree 🙂
The tree still holding a crop (only about half or so of the apples are visible)
One of the most astounding facts that I’ve ever learned is that taro is not just a crop of the Asia-Pacific region, but has about two thousand years of history as a food crop in the Mediterranean.
It seems almost anachronistic to me, as if someone had told me the Ancient Egyptians liked to go surfing. In one sense, we could even say that taro is more traditionally Italian than tomatoes!
Recently I was kindly sent some extra Torreya seeds collected from trees labelled Torreya nucifera in the North island by a friend. Initially I was very doubtful of the identification, as the size of the seeds was vastly different to the other Torreya nucifera seeds I have received.
Clockwise from top left 1) North Island Torreya fruits 2) North island Torreya nuts 3) Torreya nucifera seeds from Austria 4) Torreya californica seeds from California
However the Gymnosperm Database in its description for Torreya nucifera has this enigmatic paragraph [1]:
Ohwi (1965) recognizes a number of varieties, which are not mentioned by Farjon (2010). Var. radicans is shrubby, native to the Honshu mountains. Var. macrosperma has a large seed 35-40 mm long, and is found only in the Mie and Shiga prefectures on Honshu. Var. igaensis has shorter (10-18 mm long), abruptly spinescent leaves, with a short (20 mm) seed. It is rare, found only in Iga Prefecture on Honshu.
The $2 coin has a diameter of 26.5mm, so perhaps the seeds are from Torreya nucifera var igaensis. The seeds from Austria look to be about 35mm long which matches Torreya nucifera var macrosperma.
Close up photo showing seeds as well as the single leaf blade that came with the seeds. The length of the leaf blade matches the description for igaensis.
Since we’re selecting for larger seeds, there may not appear to be any benefit to selecting this variety with smaller seeds. However it’s always worth growing out extra genetics if you have the space, as it’s possible that the smaller seed size is offset with vigour, precociousness or productiveness.
Hopefully we’ll be able to plant out a trial row of Torreya within the next 1-2 years and begin the next phase of our Torreya project.
Last Friday I was searching for old and wild fruit trees in Canterbury. As usual, much of the wild fruit trees that I come across are average at best. I was happily inspecting a plum, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw an unusual fruit tree, with small, bright yellow fruits. I thought it could be a hawthorn species (Crataegus). However, when I got closer, it was clear this was no Crataegus. No, this tree was a pear, unlike anything I’d ever seen before!
The tree was very large, approximately 90cm dbh, maybe 10-15m tall or so. I’d estimate very roughly it’s at least 100 years old, but I’m not very good at dating trees in Canterbury (more sun, less rain and different soils than what I’m used to).
The fruits had what’s called a ‘persistent style’, i.e. the flower structure (the star shaped part) is retained on the bottom of the fruit rather than falling off.
Persistent styles on hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) fruit
I smelled the fruits, and they had a strong pear fragrance. I took a small bite. They were very tannic (i.e. lots of tannins), yet still sweet and flavourful. Some of the fruits on the floor has begun to blet (i.e. turn brown), and these ones smelled strongly like marzipan!
Idid a bit of research then and there, and I was able to quickly narrow it down to high confidence this tree was Pyrus pyraster. The ‘pyraster’ part as I understand is Latin for ‘pear star’ or ‘star pear’ (aster = star, pyr = pear), and certainly the persistent style is star-shaped, so that fits well. I have visited a few Pyrus collections at various arboreta in New Zealand, and had never seen one with fruit like this before – almost all other Pyrus species in New Zealand are essentially tiny, sour nashis, so that is another clue this was something unusual that I hadn’t seen before.
As an aside it’s worth explaining what a perry pear is. Just as there are dessert apples and cider apples, there are dessert pears and cider pears. The cider variants generally have higher acid and higher tannins, as this helps to keep the flavour of the fermented drink from developing too many volatile compounds, the ones that make it smell like rotten fruit. Cider prepared from mostly dessert varieties, tends to be of low quality as a result (and unfortunately, most cider in New Zealand is made from dessert fruit…). Pear cider is traditionally called perry, and so the ‘cider pears’ are actually called perry pears. Perry pears are usually hybrids between Pyrus pyraster, and Pyrus communis.
One last special thing to note about pears and perry, is that they contain sorbitol, which is a sugar alcohol with a sweet taste (it’s sometimes used as an artificial sweetener). Sorbitol is not metabolized by yeast, so when pear juice with sorbitol is fermented, it doesn’t taste completely ‘dry’ (i.e. low sugar), because the sorbitol will provide the sweet taste. This is in contrast to apple cider, where if you ferment it a bit too far, all the sugar is gone, so it doesn’t have a sweet taste anymore.
As a massive co-incidence, earlier that very day I posted some pear fruit from a very old West Coast pear tree (also over 100 years old), to Trevor at Teepee Cider as I thought they might be tannic enough to make perry with. Perry pears are incredibly rare in New Zealand, and Trevor has been looking for them for a number of years now. Only 5 hours later after posting some possible perry pears off, here I was finding the first wild perry pear I’ve ever seen, what are the chances?
Pyrus pyraster fruits on a plate, compared to a $2 coin.
It’s probably worth mentioning that Pyrus pyraster is also considered as a subspecies of the common pear – Pyrus communis subsp. pyraster. I find this rather confusing so have avoided this name, as in my opinion it’s much easier to talk about the wild relatives with a distinct species name, e.g. Malus sieversii is the main wild ancestor of Malus domestica.
When I got home I asked the folks from EFNEX for help confirming the identification, and the replies agreed this tree was likely Pyrus pyraster. I also talked to a few New Zealand experts, but haven’t yet had a clear answer as to whether there are other known pure-ish P. pyraster in New Zealand, although they did mention there are at least a few perry pears in New Zealand. Certainly there are none on inaturalist (just one misidentified feral pear), and I didn’t find any references in a few online lists of New Zealand trees.
So the next steps are to get permission to propagate this tree, and then work on propagation via both grafting and seedlings. I believe there is a whole world of new pear varieties that inherit the wonderful features of this one, such as smaller fruit in clusters, bright yellow fruit with smooth skins (no russeting), disease resistance, and new flavours, and so it would be great to see them.
This is only part 1 of the story about this tree…. There is much more to come…
We are excited to announce that a shipova has been located in New Zealand, and will soon re-enter cultivation.
Shipova (x Pyraria irregularis, formerly x Sorbopyrus irregularis) is an incredibly unusual, intergeneric hybrid plant. It arises from a cross between a European pear (Pyrus communis) mother and a whitebeam (Aria edulis, formerly Sorbus aria) father. It is a triploid, with two chromosomes from pear and one from whitebeam.
The fruit are the size of a small pear, developing an attractive red blush on the side facing the sun. The fruit texture is creamy and a bit gritty. The taste has a rich bouquet of new flavours inherited from the whitebeam side of the family, the ripe fruit tasting very sweet with tropical fruit notes (variously described as mango, pineapple or guava). As the fruit ages, the flavours intensify and a strong marzipan (!) comes to the fore.
Superior shipova fruit grown by Marius Poenariu of Romania. Photos used with permission.
