'Crimson Gold' is a modern
cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
of
applecrab Applecrabs are various hybrids between crabapples and apples. They are bred for varying reasons, including disease resistance and use in cold climates because they are often hardier than apple trees and their fruit has the good eating qualities of ...
, meaning that it is a
cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
between a
crabapple
''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries.
The genus is native plant, native to the temper ...
and a domesticated
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
. It is a small apple.
[
It is one of the last apples to be developed by the American breeder ]Albert Etter
Albert Etter (1872–1950) was an American plant breeder best known for his work on strawberry and apple varieties.
Early life and education
Albert Felix Etter was born near Shingle Springs in El Dorado County, California, on November 27, 1872. ...
in 1944, who named it 'Little Rosybloom'. Etter died in 1950 before completing the patent filing, and it was later rediscovered and renamed as 'Crimson Gold'.[Green Mantle Nursery: The Ettersburg Apple Legacies]
/ref>
[ In fact, when the apple was rediscovered, about 1970, on a single limb of an old test orchard, Etter's "boil test" was used to confirm that the found apple was in fact Crimson Gold/Little Rosybloom. The genuine apple holds its shape after 2 hours of boiling, while the similar Wickson Crab, also an Etter introduction, does not.
Things became confused when "Svatava" a totally different, modern, variety from Europe, was introduced under the same name, "Crimson(r) Gold". The new introduction was trademarked in the US by Brandt's Fruit Trees, so now the "original" Crimson Gold is again being called Little Rosybloom, although a few, wholesale, specialty fruit distribution companies continue to promote the original as Crimson Gold. Both apples are grown in very small volumes, and are mostly grown by home growers, or small direct retail orchards. The Crimson(r) Gold is a registered trademark of Brandt's Fruit Trees and permission must be given in order for the trademark to be used with the Svatava cultivar.
]
References
External links
Shockingly Delicious
Apple cultivars
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