| Niedzwetzky's apple | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Illustration ofMalus niedzwetzkyana from a 1921 botanical compendium | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Malus |
| Species: | M. niedzwetzkyana |
| Binomial name | |
| Malus niedzwetzkyana | |
Malus niedzwetzkyana, orNiedzwetzky's apple, is a kind ofapple native to Asia noted for its red-fleshed, red-skinned fruit and red flowers. Some botanists consider it a distinct species, while others have argued that it is simply an unusual variety of the commonapple. It is listed as anendangered species globally byIUCN.[1]
The tree is winter-hardy anddrought-resistant, growing 5–8 m (16–26 ft) tall in the wild (<5 m under cultivation), with a globular crown and very dark purplish-brown bark.[citation needed]
New shoots are dark purple, and leaves range from purplish when new to dark green when mature. In the spring it puts out intensely magenta-rose flowers. The skin of the fruit is deep red to purple-red (sometimes with a bluish, waxy bloom) and the flesh ranges from light to bright red, with dark reddish-brown seeds.[2]
The fruit is edible and not very tart, with dry, somewhat chewy flesh.[3] In theKashgar region of China near the Kyrgyzstan andTajikistan borders, it is known as 'kisil alma': 'red apple'.[3]
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Some botanists consider it a distinct species,[4] while others have argued that it is simply an unusual variety of the commonapple.[5][6][7]
The species is native to certain parts ofChina,Afghanistan,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, andUzbekistan.[citation needed]
The tree was introduced to the West c. 1890 byGeorg Dieck at the Zöschen Arboretum, Germany, who grew it from seed sent by the Russian lawyer and amateur botanistVladislav E. Niedzwiecki living in exile inTurkestan; Dieck later donated specimens to theSpäth nursery, which exported the tree to the US c. 1896.[8]
Niedzwetzky's apple is rare, often growing as an isolated tree, and is classified asendangered throughout its range in theIUCN Red List.[1] Only a few hundred specimens of the tree are known to survive in Kyrgyzstan.[9] The conservation group Fauna & Flora International is working to save and restore the species in that country, and has putM. niedzwetzkyana on its endangered list, brought it under its Global Trees Campaign, and planted over 1,000 saplings in area forests in 2010 and 2011.[10][11]
Malus niedzwetzkyana has been used to breed some modern red-leaved, red-flowered, and red-fruited apples and crabapples. It is believed to be the ancestor ofSurprise, a pink-fleshed apple that was brought to the United States by German immigrants around 1840 and was later used by the horticulturistAlbert Etter to breed some 30 pink- and red-fleshed varieties, the best-known of which isPink Pearl.[12] Another horticulturist,Niels Ebbesen Hansen, encounteredM. niedzwetzkyana in theIli valley, where he also met Niedzwetzky, in what was then the Russian region of Turkestan (but nowKazakhstan) during his 1897 expedition. Hansen began two breeding programs based on this unusual fruit, one aimed at developing a cold-hardy cooking and eating apple, and the other aimed at developing ornamental crabapples. His efforts resulted in the Almata apple and the Hopa crabapple, among other varieties. Some of these apples, as well asM. niedzwetzkyana itself, are being used for small-scale commercial production of rosé apple ciders.[13]
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