An Apple a day..

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. But what are the origins of these beautiful, abundant trees? How did they come to be with us and produce such delicious fruits?

The common apple tree’s Latin name is Malus domestica. You may think domestica means domesticated, but the Latin translation directly translates to maid or servant. They are part of the Rosaceae family, which includes many useful herbaceous woody plants such as roses, raspberries, and blackberries.

The evolution of the apple tree closely follows human movements and settlements. So how has the humble apple achieved world domination? The story starts somewhere in Kazakhstan around 75 million years ago. In the Paleolithic era, early food gatherers discovered the sour crab apple. It wasn’t until 8000 years ago that Neolithic farmers began cultivating apples. The Egyptians were known to plant apples along the Nile, and this knowledge was undoubtedly passed on to the ancient Greeks. When the Romans expanded, the apple tree travelled with them and made its way to the UK by 200 BC. Since then, the apple travelled with the Spaniards to South America in the 1500s.

I was born and grew up in Somerset, the land of apple cider and cheese. One of my memories growing up is Autumn as a scrawny 14 year old a metal and heavy rake in hand my breath forming clouds in the cold air. I was there to rake the cider apples into rows to be picked up. It was hard work but I left at the of the day with a few crisp notes in my pocket.  My connection to the apple—memories of orchards, crunchy juicy apples as a kid, and now the knowledge that the apple evolution is so closely connected and symbiotic to ours. I cannot help thinking of it every time I take a bite.

So how did a crab apple come to resemble the Malus domestica we have today?

Throughout history, it has been human nature to strive for better, to create, experiment, and grow. Apple trees are an example of this. Hungry hunter-gatherers collected the best fruit and spread the best-tasting seeds. Curious and creative orchardists selected, tasted, and explored their best fruit over generations, cultivating the apples we have today.

Did you know, if you grow an apple tree from a seed, it will not grow the same apples you took the seed from?

A new apple tree is created every time pollen from two trees mixes in the seed of an apple. So for example, the seed from a Pink Lady will not grow a true Pink Lady apple tree but a whole new variety.

You maybe asking, How are Pink Lady trees kept as Pink Ladies? Apple trees can be grafted, which, in layman’s terms, means sticking one apple tree onto another. Two trees growing together—say, one tree with strong roots and one tree with beautiful fruits. We are not sure when this discovery happened, but there are records going back 4000 years to the Middle East and China.

A feat in the human symbiotic relationship with plants and quite beautiful to know that the humble Cox’s Orange Pippin is a direct clone of the very first ever Cox's Orange Pippin grown in the early 19th century.

The journey and development of the apple go back centuries to the apples we are eating today. So let each apple you eat inspire you—you are eating something so old, that has travelled so far, a beautiful revolution in human food production.

Aren’t trees inspiring? An apple tree is a symbol of thinking outside the box, of creative thinking.

As I think of the story of the humble apple tree, it’s a story of observation, creativity, and trial and error. How can you bring more creativity, observation and trial and error in to your life?