Cortland is a cultivar of

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 ...

developed at the

New York State Agricultural Experiment Station The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) at Geneva, Ontario County, New York State, is an agricultural experiment station operated by the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. In August 20 ...

Geneva, New York Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1898. The apple was named after nearby

Cortland County, New York Cortland County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population of Cortland County was 46,809. The county seat is Cortland. The county is named after Pierre Van Cortlandt, president of the convention a ...

. It is among the fifteen most popular in the United States and Canada.

Breeding

After the many attributes of

McIntosh McIntosh, Macintosh, or Mackintosh (Gaelic: ') may refer to: Products and brands * Mackintosh, a form of waterproof raincoat * Mackintosh's or John Mackintosh and Co., later Rowntree Mackintosh, former UK confectionery company now part of Nestl� ...

were discovered, plant breeders began crossing it with other varieties to enhance its traits. One of the earliest was the 'Cortland'. Its flavor is sweet compared to McIntosh, and it has a flush of

crimson Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, ''Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red colo ...

against a pale yellow or green background sprinkled with short, dark red stripes and gray-green dots. It has white flesh and is resistant to browning. It was first bred by American horticulturalist S.A Beach.

Patented mutants (sports)

The original Cortland variety, introduced in 1915 by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, produced apples which were 20–30% red, and was not patented. Since then, several sports have been identified and patented:

Descendant cultivars

Birgit Bonnier 'Birgit Bonnier' is a modern cultivar of domesticated apple which have some resistance to apple scab and mildew. 'Birgit Bonnier' was developed in Sweden through a cross between the popular 'Cortland' and the 'Lord Lambourne'. The result is an ...

Footnotes

Cortland American apples {{apple-fruit-stub