I wanted to update.
We did genetic testing on the oldest apple tree in WA state, which by the way sadly died this year…but they are trying to “save” it by grafting on limbs from genetic clones.
Turns out to be a novel tree, not directly shown to have parents with any known variety, even though we know the seeds came from a desert apple grown in England, likely planted late 1700s.
The closest genes to a known variety is a variety that is FIVE HUNDRED YEARS OLD!
Here is more from our mayor:
“ IN SEARCH FOR ANCES-TREE, OLD APPLE TREE IS ONE OF A KIND
A scientific search for its ancestral tree has led directly back to the Old Apple Tree.
Genetic testing has become a popular tool for people seeking scientific clues about their ancestors. Vancouver Urban Forestry and National Park Service were looking for much the same type of information when they and a volunteer teamed up with Washington State University (WSU) to answer this question: Exactly what type of apple tree is the Old Apple Tree?
Turns out it truly is one of a kind. Genetically unique.
Since the time the Old Apple Tree was planted in 1826, the type of apple it produces has been unknown. Most often, it has been referred to as an English Greening Apple, generic term used for a European old-world apple.
In late 2019, Paul Stasz, a volunteer with both Vancouver Urban Forestry and National Parks Service, contacted researchers at WSU-Pullman, to see if the Old Apple Tree could be part of the university’s apple genome project. DNA tissue samples were carefully collected and sent to WSU’s Cameron Peace, one of the principal investigators sequencing the worldwide family tree of apple. With its large database, the project can identify ancestors of specific apples.
The results are now in. The genetic testing has confirmed that the Old Apple Tree is not identical to another known apple tree and, further, has no known parent-child relationships in WSU’s extensive apple genome database.
The closest relationship appears to be a distant one to the 500-year-old variety, French Reinette, considered the ‘grandmother of all’ apple trees. The French Reinette is a close direct ancestor of most modern varieties and also a parent or grandparent to many heirloom varieties.
Pearce plans to publish a paper on the genetic findings of the Old Apple Tree. Its official, botanical name is now Malus x domestica ‘Ft Vancouver’ or the Old Apple Tree.
Planted from seed at the historical Fort Vancouver, the Old Apple Tree is considered the matriarch of the apple industry in Washington State. Its death earlier this summer at the venerable age of 194 was precipitated by a significant spiral crack in the trunk.
Arborists investigated and determined that the cambium layer of the tree, which transports water and nutrients to the canopy, had been disrupted when the tree shifted slightly.
Thanks to its amazing genetics, however, the Old Apple Tree lives on.
Vancouver Urban Forestry, the National Park Service and others have been planning for the inevitable by nurturing several root suckers, now small saplings growing around the Old Apple Tree.
One sapling near the center of the original tree will be cultivated and will inherit the title of Old Apple Tree, given its genetic makeup. It’s the same root system, but with a new stem.
The remaining saplings will be transplanted to the National Park Service’s historic orchard at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.”
