Wijcik McIntosh is a

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mi ...

of the

McIntosh apple The McIntosh ( ), McIntosh Red, or colloquially the Mac, is an apple cultivar, the national apple of Canada. The fruit has red and green skin, a tart flavour, and tender white flesh, which ripens in late September. In the 20th century it was t ...

that has a columnar growing habit, meaning that it grows straight and upright, and is spur-bearing, without any major branching. This property is very much appreciated for use as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

for itself, and also in the

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

of other

apple cultivars Over 7,500 cultivars of the culinary or eating apple (''Malus domestica'') are known. Some are extremely important economically as commercial products, though the vast majority are not suitable for mass production. In the following list, use for ...

, to make them columnar as well. This mutant was first discovered in the mid 1960s by Anthony Wijcik in Kelowna British Columbia. His daughter Wendy pointed out the mutated branch on a fifty-year-old standard McIntosh tree. The mutation that causes the extreme spur-type growth is governed by the compact (Co) gene. This gene is highly heritable and around 40% of crosses that involve the Wijcik plant are also columnar. It was initially developed by Don Fisher of the Summerland Research Station in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada. Then rights were sold to Stark Brothers Nursery who applied for a patent (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,382) in 1978 and were later granted it in 1979. It was the first "columnar style" ornamental apple trees. Over 300 crosses were made from this single McIntosh Wijcik tree, by various apple breeding programs throughout the world, in order to develop more columnar apple cultivars. Some examples of varieties that have Wijcik Mcintosh in their parentage are Telamon, Tuscan, Trajan, Golden Sentinel and Scarlett Sentinel.

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