The Story of the Apple

by Juniper, Barrie E.

• ISBN13: 9780881927849
• ISBN10: 0881927848
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-08-09
• Publisher: Workman Pub Co

Summary

The Story of the Apple reveals the solution to a long-standing puzzle. Where did the apple come from, and why is the familiar large, sweet, cultivated apple so different from all other wild apple species with their bitter, cherry-sized fruits? This book will fascinate gardeners who wish to know more about the origin and natural history of the plants that they grow in their yards or orchards, researchers and students in botany and horticulture who want the evidence from DNA, geology, anthropology, archaeology, zoology, and Classical history, and anyone with an interest in diet, well-being, and the benevolent effects of plants on the emergence of humankind.

Author Biography

David J. Mabberley is the Soest Professor of Horticultural Science and Director of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens, and visiting professor at the University of Leiden.

Table of Contents

Preface	11	(6)
Acknowledgments	13	(4)
CHAPTER 1 What are apples?	17	(29)
Apple relatives	18	(8)
Apple fruits, flowers, and seeds	26	(4)
Apple dispersal	30	(4)
Apple country	34	(12)
The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau	38	(1)
The monsoon region	38	(3)
The Tian Shan	41	(5)
CHAPTER 2 Origin of the apple	46	(35)
Malus pumila and its relatives	47	(6)
DNA evidence	48	(2)
Evidence from cultivars	50	(3)
The origin of the apple: A tentative conclusion	53	(3)
The fruit forest	56	(11)
The three phases of the apple crop	67	(6)
Enter the bear	73	(2)
Enter the horse	75	(3)
Camels	78	(1)
And dung beetles?	78	(3)
CHAPTER 3 Archaeology and the apple	81	(10)
The Turkic Corridor	84	(3)
Pack animals	85	(2)
Ancient apple names	87	(4)
CHAPTER 4 Apples and grafting	91	(24)
Grafting and the apple's move westward	94	(3)
Archaeological evidence for grafting	97	(3)
Grafting in the Middle Ages and after	100	(5)
Grafting in China	105	(3)
Apple rootstocks	108	(7)
CHAPTER 5 Westward migration of the apple	115	(39)
Chinese names for apples	115	(5)
Silk Roads	120	(3)
Lapis Lazuli Road	123	(3)
Apples in Europe	126	(10)
Celtic place-names and the apple	129	(1)
Romans in Britain	130	(1)
The empire of Charlemagne	131	(1)
Berbers and Moors	131	(1)
Post-Roman place-names and the apple	132	(2)
The Battle of Hastings	134	(2)
Reception of the apple in the West	136	(13)
The image of the apple	140	(3)
The apple in Germany	143	(3)
That puzzling word reinette	146	(1)
The textbook and the apple	146	(3)
The apple in folklore and other stories	149	(5)
Newton's apple	149	(1)
'Norfolk Beefin'	150	(1)
'Bramley's Seedling'	150	(1)
'Ribston Pippin'	151	(1)
'Blenheim Orange'	152	(1)
And some non-apples	153	(1)
CHAPTER 6 Apple migration across the seas	154	(5)
Scurvy	154	(1)
Colonies	155	(4)
CHAPTER 7 Beyond dessert: Cyder and ornamentals	159	(21)
Cyder and cider	160	(4)
Early Europe	164	(1)
Britain	165	(2)
Scudamore's 'Redstreak'	166	(1)
Vinetum Britannicum	166	(1)
France	167	(1)
North America	168	(2)
Johnny Appleseed	169	(1)
Virtues of cyder	170	(2)
Other methods of apple preservation	172	(2)
Apple growing	174	(1)
Apple wood	175	(1)
Apple hybrids	175	(2)
Ornamental crabs	177	(3)
'Niedzwetzkyana'	178	(2)
CHAPTER 8 A dénouement	180	(4)
The future of the apple	183	(1)
APPENDIX Classification and distribution of apple species	184	(3)
References	187	(24)
Index	211