An apple is an edible
fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple
trees are
cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the
genus ''
Malus''. The
tree originated in
Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ''
Malus sieversii'', is still found today. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe and were brought to North America by
European colonists. Apples have
religious and
mythological
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
significance in many cultures, including
Norse
Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries.
Norse may also refer to:
Culture and religion
* Nor ...
,
Greek, and
European Christian tradition.
Apples grown from seed tend to be very different from those of their parents, and the resultant fruit frequently lacks desired characteristics. Generally, apple
cultivars are propagated by clonal
grafting
Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...
onto
rootstocks. Apple trees grown without rootstocks tend to be larger and much slower to fruit after planting. Rootstocks are used to control the speed of growth and the size of the resulting tree, allowing for easier harvesting.
There are more than 7,500 known
cultivars of apples. Different cultivars are bred for various tastes and uses, including
cooking
Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...
, eati