Crimson King, also known as John Toucher's or the Bewley Down Pippin, is a traditional
cider apple
Cider apples are a group of apple cultivars grown for their use in the production of cider (referred to as "hard cider" in the United States). Cider apples are distinguished from "cookers" and "eaters", or dessert apples, by their bitterness or ...
cultivar originating in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
.
Origin
The cultivar was raised in the late 19th century by John Toucher of Bewley Down,
Chardstock
Chardstock is a village and civil parish located on the eastern border of Devon, England off the A358 road between Chard and Axminster. The parish population at the 2011 Census was 828. The parish also contains the hamlets of Bewley Down, Birc ...
.
[Copas, L. ''Somerset Pomona'', 2001, p
34] It was first widely planted in western Somerset, and subsequently in Devon and other West Country cider producing areas.
[''Annual Report'' of the Long Ashton Research Station, 1964, p. 55]
Characteristics
The fruit is generally medium to large, variable in shape, and red-skinned.
[''Annual Report'' of the Long Ashton Research Station, 1964, p. 55] In the standard classification of cider apples Crimson King is a (medium to full) "sharp", being high in acidity but low in tannin.
Crimson King is
triploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei ( eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contain ...
and mid to late bearing. It makes a vigorous, spreading tree and was reputed to bear heavy crops without much tendency to biennial cropping,
[Copas, L. ''Somerset Pomona'', 2001, p
34] although it is fairly prone to
apple scab
Apple scab is a common disease of plants in the rose family (Rosaceae) that is caused by the ascomycete fungus ''Venturia inaequalis''. While this disease affects several plant genera, including ''Sorbus, Cotoneaster,'' and ''Pyrus'', it is mos ...
.
References
External links
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{{Apples, state=collapsed
Apple cultivars
British apples