Experts identify new apple from decades-old tree

A previously unidentified apple variety grown in a back garden was discovered after a donation of surplus fruit.

The apple was found on Clarendon Road in High Town in Luton in 2023, where a tree believed to be between 70 and 90 years old had been growing for decades.

It was tested by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany in Cambridge last year and compared against thousands of other UK and European varieties.

Konni Deppe, founder of Luton Orchards, said it was a "nice addition" to the town's history after the 1958 case of local man Alfred Hull who famously grew an apple variety, subsequently named Pam's Delight after his daughter Pamela.

She described the taste of the new apple as excellent for making purée. She said its flavour changes considerably as it ripens, "from sharp to lovely, before becoming slightly wine-like when overripe".

Deppe said DNA testing showed that the new apple's probable parent varieties were two 19th-century apples: Newton Wonder and James Grieve.

"Newton Wonder grew from a tree found in the thatched roof of a pub in King Newton, Derbyshire, in about 1870, while James Grieve is a Scottish apple dating from 1893," Deppe said.

The current owner of the tree, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were "glad to be part of this wonderful discovery", but who planted the tree, and why, remains a local mystery.

Deppe said research by a family historian, along with conversations with previous residents, has not yet provided an answer.

"Fruit trees were once common in Luton gardens, and the area around the tree is shown as containing fruit trees on historic Ordnance Survey maps," she added.

Luton Orchards has drawn up a shortlist of names for the new apple, with the public invited to vote.

The options include Clarendon Blush and Luton Wonder.

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