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The Rhode Island Greening is an old, historic American apple

Apple

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

 variety and the official fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

 of the state of Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

.

History

The Rhode Island Greening allegedly originated around 1650 near Green’s End

Green’s End

Green’s End is a historic village and populated area in Middletown, Rhode Island. Witherbee School is located in the area.-History:Around 1650 the state fruit, the Rhode Island Greening was developed in Green's End by Mr. Green, a local tavern owner who operated Green's Inn. Greening would grow...

 in Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

 (in modern day Middletown

Middletown, Rhode Island

Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,150 at the 2010 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown."-Geography:...

) . The first Greenings were allegedly grown by a Mr. Green who operated a tavern and developed apple trees from seed. Green gave many scions

Grafting

Grafting is a horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together. This vascular joining is called inosculation...

 from the tree to visitors for grafting elsewhere, and the original tree died. The apples became known as Green's Inn apples from Rhode Island. One of the oldest surviving trees was located on Mt. Hygeia

Mt. Hygeia

Mt. Hygeia is an historic farm in Foster, Rhode Island that was home to Dr. Solomon Drowne.-History:...

 farm in Foster, Rhode Island

Foster, Rhode Island

Foster is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, in the United States. The population was 4,606 at the 2010 census.- History :Foster was originally settled in the 17th century by British colonists as a farming community...

 at the turn of the twentieth century. The Rhode Island Greening was one of the most popular apples grown in New York in the nineteenth century.

Characteristics

It is tender, crisp, juicy and quite tart and similar to the Granny Smith

Granny Smith

The Granny Ramsey Smith green apple is a tip-bearing apple cultivar, which originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling. The tree is thought to be a hybrid of Malus sylvestris, the European Wild Apple, with the domestic...

. The fruit is large, uniformly round in shape and flattened on the ends with a dark, waxy green skin that turns a greenish-yellow when fully ripe. It keeps well into the winter and ripens from September to October, keeping well into February or longer.

External links

• Greening link from vintage Virginia Apples