Organization:Lost Apple Project
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The Lost Apple Project is a nonprofit organization that searches abandoned farms and orchards in the Pacific Northwest to locate old apple varieties that have been thought to be lost or extinct. At one time, there were approximately 17,000 named varieties of domesticated apples in the United States, but only about 4,500 are known to exist today.[1]
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The project was founded by E.J. Brandt and David Benscoter, who work closely with the Temperate Orchard Conservancy in Oregon which identifies the specimens that Brandt and Benscoter collect.[2][3] Brandt and Benscoter rely on old county fair records, newspaper clippings, and nursery sales ledgers, as well as tips from people, to find likely places to search for old trees.[4] They collect apple specimens in the fall, then return in the winter to gather wood cuttings for grafting.[2]
As of April 2020, the project has discovered 23 lost apple varieties.[1] Some of the lost apple varieties that the project has found in Washington and Idaho include the Streaked Pippin, the Sary Sinap, and the Nero.[5] Nero, which was discovered at Steptoe Butte, was the first old apple variety found by Benscoter.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Flaccus, Gillian (April 15, 2020). "10 pioneer-era apple types thought extinct found in US West". Seattle: KOMO-TV. https://komonews.com/news/local/10-pioneer-era-apple-types-thought-extinct-found-in-us-west.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bowden, John (April 15, 2020). "10 apple types thought extinct found in Western US" (in en). https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/492934-10-apple-types-thought-extinct-found-in-western-us.
- ↑ "Lost Apple Project hunts for vintage varieties" (in en). November 27, 2019. https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/lost-apple-project-vintage-varieties.
- ↑ "Apple sleuths hunt Northwest for varieties believed extinct" (in en). Salem, Oregon. November 22, 2019. https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2019/11/22/apple-tree-hunt-agriculture-fruit-nature-nonprofit-vietnam-veteran/4248380002/.
- ↑ "Apple varieties rediscovered by the Lost Apple Project" (in en-US). Sentinel Colorado (Aurora, Colorado). April 15, 2020. https://sentinelcolorado.com/uncategorized/apple-varieties-rediscovered-by-the-lost-apple-project/.
- ↑ "Two more 'lost apples' found at Steptoe Butte". The Spokesman-Review (Spokane). March 2, 2017. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/mar/02/two-more-lost-apples-found-at-steptoe-butte/.
Further reading
- Kirk Johnson (May 29, 2017). "Hunting Down the Lost Apples of the Pacific Northwest". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/29/us/apple-varieties-pacific-northwest.html.
External links
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