Old Southern Apples

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Arkansas Black.Originated in Benton County, Arkansas, around 1870. Probably a seedling of Stayman Winesap. Arkansas Black is a medium to large apple. Waxy skin is dark red, nearly black. Flesh is yellow with distinctive flavor. Great keeping apple. "Hard enough to knock a dog down" when first picked, but mellows in storage. Noted for disease resistance. A superior, late, no-spray apple.

Ben Davis Striped red apple, very hardy, vigorous, and productive. Ripens late. Exceptional keeper until June or July. Popular in the South after the Civil War. Often described as having only passable flavor, thus rendering it the butt of many an apple joke. (I would add only that any tree that can stand up to 125 years of ribbing has earned its place in the orchard.) 

Benham An old Kentucky apple, sometimes known as the Brown Apple. Bears August. A local favorite in southwest Virginia. Yellow-brown skin. Good early-autumn apple.

Black Ben Davis Seedling of Ben Davis dating to 1880. Medium to large fruit, deep red all over. Said to make the best apple butter you ever tasted.

Black Limbertwig A spicy and aromatic variety, excellent for fresh eating. Highly prized for cider and apple butter. Weeping type. Ripens October. Described at a 1914 Georgia Horticultural Society meeting as a very diseaseresistant apple. Highly recommended.  

Buckingham One of the more popular southern apples a century ago. Fruit is large, yellow-green with mottled red stripes. Thick skin. Crisp, juicy, subacid flesh. Ripens September to October. Mentioned in pomological literature as early as 1817. Buckingham may have originated with the Cherokee Indians in Georgia.

Carolina Red June Still popular in the South. One of the best early cooking apples. Small fruit, red over yellow. White flesh is sometimes stained red near the skin like a Red Rome. Good for pies and eating out of hand. Fruit ripens over along period and does not keep very well.  

Chenango Strawberry One of the most inviting apples by name. Medium-sized, conical fruit is extremely aromatic, filling an entire room with its aroma. Skin is blushed pink over pale white. Flesh is juicy, tender, and mildly tart, but must be picked when fully ripe or it becomes dry and tasteless. Recognized as a fine dessert apple. Originated in Chenango County, New York, 1854.

Crow Egg 

(Black Gilliflower, Sheepnose) Popular in the mountains of North Carolina. Fruit is large, dark red, conical in shape. Flesh firm and sweet. Especially good for drying. Also good for baking. Originated in Connecticut in the 1700s.

David Thought to be a cross of Arkansas Black and Jonathan. Found growing wild in a fencerow in Washington County, Arkansas, 1893. Has the good keeping qualities of Arkansas Black and the spicy flavor of Jonathan. Tree is vigorous, disease-resistant, early bearing. Fruits are medium-size, dark red over pale green, growing brighter red as they hang on the tree into winter. Ripens November. A real flavorful apple.  

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