How grandma's apple tree shook experts to the core
By JAMES MILLS
29th January 2007
Diana Toms: Her humble tree is the only one of its kind in the world
Diana Toms has always been proud of the ancient apple tree in her garden.
It was planted by her great-great-great grandfather more than two centuries ago and has kept the family in delicious home-made apple pies, cakes and strudels for generations.
But what the 83-year-old grandmother never realised, until now, is that her humble tree is the only one of its kind in the world and has never before been recorded by pomologists - otherwise known as apple experts.
It can also lay claim to being the oldest apple tree in the country - at up to 204 years old, beating the original Bramley apple tree which was sown in 1809 and is still growing today.
The incredible discovery was made when Mrs Toms decided to find out what variety of cooking apples were produced by her tree in the village of Beaminster, Dorset.
The family had always called the tree Granfer's Apple - a name first used by Mrs Toms' great grandfather when he was a boy in the 1860s - but they had never known its true name.
Mrs Toms took some of her fruit to an event run by the Symondsbury Apple Project in Dorset, which offers advice on caring for apple trees.
But the resident experts were left baffled.
And pomologists across the country have also failed to identify the type, including those from the National Fruit Collection (NFC), the leading authority in fruit identification.
Mrs Toms now hopes that the NFC will announce it as a new variety and name it Granfer's Apple.
She said: "I am rather pleased that it is baffling all these people, it's most interesting.
"But if nobody knows what it is then it should officially be called Granfer's Apple. I would like that.
"All I know is my grandfather was born in 1860 and he always referred to it as Granfer's Apple, as in grandfather's apple, so it was obviously around when his grandfather was alive.
"It is so old that the family took it for granted and never bothered to find out its real name."
It is thought that Mrs Toms' great-great-great grandfather Isaac Bugler planted the tree in an orchard attached to the family home as far back as 1803 - although this cannot be verified.
A number of apple enthusiasts have taken cuttings from the tree with a view to expanding the new species.
David Squirrel, of the Symondsbury Apple Project, said: "Mrs Toms brought it along to the Symondsbury Apple Day asking if we could identify it.
"It's appearance just doesn't match up with any other variety. There are lots of things about it, the shape, closed eye and length of stalk.
"We had a look at it and I had an idea of what it might have been.
"I went to see the tree the following spring to have a look at the blossom to confirm my suspicions, but the colour of the blossom blew my theory out of the water.
"I showed it to a pomologist and she couldn't put a name to it. We had to return a verdict of 'don't know' to Mrs Toms.
"Her great-great-great grandfather bought the property in 1803 and we think he planted the tree.
"If that is correct then this apple is older than the Bramley. It looks like he took the secret of the tree to his grave.
"It might be a new variety that nobody knows about, or it could be an old one that was forgotten about many, many years ago.
"A completely new variety is very, very rare.
"The Bramley is the benchmark because everybody knows it and it is very old.
"It is baffling us at the moment but it would be very exciting if it is a new variety."
Although the ancient tree has had its crown blown off after being ravaged by storms over the last 30 years, it has survived and is still producing apples today.
Mrs Toms, a widow, said: "When I was a child I learnt to catch by standing under the tree and my father would climb up and drop the apples down to me.
"It is a wonderful cooking apple and my family have used it in cakes and pies for years and years.
"In the autumn I freeze a lot of pies and give away many apples because the crop is so big.
"But if you like a sharp and crisp taste, then the apple is equally good for eating."
dailymail.co.uk
By JAMES MILLS
29th January 2007
Diana Toms: Her humble tree is the only one of its kind in the world
Diana Toms has always been proud of the ancient apple tree in her garden.
It was planted by her great-great-great grandfather more than two centuries ago and has kept the family in delicious home-made apple pies, cakes and strudels for generations.
But what the 83-year-old grandmother never realised, until now, is that her humble tree is the only one of its kind in the world and has never before been recorded by pomologists - otherwise known as apple experts.
It can also lay claim to being the oldest apple tree in the country - at up to 204 years old, beating the original Bramley apple tree which was sown in 1809 and is still growing today.
The incredible discovery was made when Mrs Toms decided to find out what variety of cooking apples were produced by her tree in the village of Beaminster, Dorset.
The family had always called the tree Granfer's Apple - a name first used by Mrs Toms' great grandfather when he was a boy in the 1860s - but they had never known its true name.
Mrs Toms took some of her fruit to an event run by the Symondsbury Apple Project in Dorset, which offers advice on caring for apple trees.
But the resident experts were left baffled.
And pomologists across the country have also failed to identify the type, including those from the National Fruit Collection (NFC), the leading authority in fruit identification.
Mrs Toms now hopes that the NFC will announce it as a new variety and name it Granfer's Apple.
She said: "I am rather pleased that it is baffling all these people, it's most interesting.
"But if nobody knows what it is then it should officially be called Granfer's Apple. I would like that.
"All I know is my grandfather was born in 1860 and he always referred to it as Granfer's Apple, as in grandfather's apple, so it was obviously around when his grandfather was alive.
"It is so old that the family took it for granted and never bothered to find out its real name."
It is thought that Mrs Toms' great-great-great grandfather Isaac Bugler planted the tree in an orchard attached to the family home as far back as 1803 - although this cannot be verified.
A number of apple enthusiasts have taken cuttings from the tree with a view to expanding the new species.
David Squirrel, of the Symondsbury Apple Project, said: "Mrs Toms brought it along to the Symondsbury Apple Day asking if we could identify it.
"It's appearance just doesn't match up with any other variety. There are lots of things about it, the shape, closed eye and length of stalk.
"We had a look at it and I had an idea of what it might have been.
"I went to see the tree the following spring to have a look at the blossom to confirm my suspicions, but the colour of the blossom blew my theory out of the water.
"I showed it to a pomologist and she couldn't put a name to it. We had to return a verdict of 'don't know' to Mrs Toms.
"Her great-great-great grandfather bought the property in 1803 and we think he planted the tree.
"If that is correct then this apple is older than the Bramley. It looks like he took the secret of the tree to his grave.
"It might be a new variety that nobody knows about, or it could be an old one that was forgotten about many, many years ago.
"A completely new variety is very, very rare.
"The Bramley is the benchmark because everybody knows it and it is very old.
"It is baffling us at the moment but it would be very exciting if it is a new variety."
Although the ancient tree has had its crown blown off after being ravaged by storms over the last 30 years, it has survived and is still producing apples today.
Mrs Toms, a widow, said: "When I was a child I learnt to catch by standing under the tree and my father would climb up and drop the apples down to me.
"It is a wonderful cooking apple and my family have used it in cakes and pies for years and years.
"In the autumn I freeze a lot of pies and give away many apples because the crop is so big.
"But if you like a sharp and crisp taste, then the apple is equally good for eating."
dailymail.co.uk
