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List of apple cultivars

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'Granny Smith', an apple cultivar

Over 7,500 cultivars of the apple are known. The following is a list of the more common and important cultivars, with the year and place of origin (where documented), and whether each produces cooking apples or dessert apples.

Two of the most comprehensive publications on apple cultivars are:

Eating apples

  • 'Cripps Pink'
    'Cripps Pink'
  • 'Ribston Pippin'
    'Ribston Pippin'
Kidd's orange-Red Cox x Red Delicious
Common name Origin First developed Comment Use
Akane Japan 1970   Eating
Ambrosia British Columbia Early 1980s   Eating
Anna Israel     Eating
Annurca Campania, Italy 1876 (pre-77 A.D.?) Very old apple; possibly one of the oldest of all. Believed to be older than first mention in Pasquale's "Manuale di Arboricultura" in 1876. Believed to be the apple depicted in frescoes at ruins of Herculaneum and mentioned in Pliny the Elder's "Naturalis Historia". Eating
Antonovka Russia   Extremely tolerant of cold weather. Hardy. Cooking
Arkansas Black Arkansas c. 1870   Eating
Ashmead's Kernel England   Small, very sweet and very tart Eating
Bailey New York c. 1840    
Baldwin Massachusetts c. 1740 Sweet to subacid flavor. Also known as Woodpecker. Very old variety for North America. Eating and cooking.
Beacon       Eating
Beauty of Bath England c. 1864 Deep red flush and streaks of red with a little russet. Early maturing but short season. Poor flavour so now rare. Eating
Ben Davis Southeastern United States   Noted for keeping well prior to refrigerated storage, but with a flavor compared with cork Eating
Belle de Boskoop Boskoop, Netherlands c.1856 Bright red, fairly large, early in season (end of august-early September) Cooking (traditionally apple sauce)
Beverly Hills       Eating
Blenheim Orange England c. 1740   Cooking
Braeburn New Zealand 1950s, Chance seedling. Dense apple, and becoming increasingly popular in the UK. Eating
Bramley Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England about 1809   Cooking
Bramley's Seedling Nottinghamshire, England c.1809   Cooking
Cameo Washington 1980s    
Carroll       Eating
Caville Blanc France Approx 1598 Noted for unusual looks (somewhat lumpy on the side) but excellent reward when tried. Noted for having unusually high vitamin C content. Cooking
Charles Ross Berkshire, England c. 1890 Has been a AGM winner. Orange/Red.Best cooked early in season. Good flavour, and sweet when eaten later in season. Multi-purpose
Cortland New York late 1890s Pale crisp flesh. Eating
Cornish Gilliflower Cornwall 1813   Eating
Cox's Orange Pippin Great Britain c. 1829 Mainly grown in UK, but also grown for export in NZ. Eating
Court Pendu Plat France 1613 Extremely old variety, may date from as early as the Roman times. Popular during the Victorian era. Yellow/Light green, flushed with red. Eating
Cripps Pink' ('Pink LadyTM') Australia early 1970s, western United States Crisp, very sweet and slightly tart. Light red, pink and light yellow-green striped skin. Eating
Crispin Japan 1930 See Mutsu Eating
Criterion        
Discovery Essex, England   Possibly from an open pollinated Worcester Pearmain. Eating
Dorsett       Eating
Duchess of Oldenburg Russia 1700 Has red stripes with splashes of green Eating and cooking.
Early Victoria Essex, England 1899 (Introduced) Possibly from Lord Grosvenor x Keswick Cod Eating
Edward VII   1908 (Introduced) Possibly Blenheim Orange x Golden Nobel Cooking
Egremont Russet Sussex, England 1872 Brown russeting, excellent keeper. Eating
Eia Shewer Israel     Eating
Ellison's Orange Lincolnshire, England 1911 Cox's Orange Pippin x Calville Blanch Eating
Elstar Netherlands 1950s   Eating
Emmeth Early       Cooking
Empire New York 1966 Lovely white subacid flesh. Tangy taste. Ruby red color. Eating
Enterprise Illinois 1993 Classic North American red apple. Stores well up to six months. Eating
Epicure United Kingdom     Eating
Fiesta       Eating
Fireside       Eating
Flower of Kent Kent, England 1700s This is the famous variety that inspired Isaac Newton's theories on the concept of gravity. Eating
Fortune   1904 Cox's Orange Pippin x Wealthy Eating
Fuji Japan 1930s Popularity of this apple is exploding in North America and Europe. Eating
Gala New Zealand 1970s Kidds orange-red x golden delicious Eating
George Cave Essex, England 1923 Pale green-yellow fruit with red flush. Early harvest. Eating
George Neal       Cooking
Ginger Gold Virginia late 1960s Tangy flavor, crunchy texture. Noted for being one of earliest varieties in North America to bear fruit (August.) Eating and cooking.
Golden Delicious Clay County, West Virginia [1] 1914 One of the most popular varieties in the world. Light green-yellow coloration, very sweet. Poor choice for baking. Eating
Golden Noble England 1820   Eating
Golden Russet   before 1845 Very sweet russet Eating and cider
Golden Spire Lancashire, UK 1850 An old Northern English variety. Unusual tall and oblong with a tart flavour. Eating and cider
Granny Smith Australia 1868 This is the apple once used to represent Apple Records. Also noted as common pie apple. Lime green coloring. Eating or cooking
Gravenstein Schleswig-Holstein, Germany early 1600s   Cooking
Grenadier England before 1862   Cooking
Haralson Minnesota 1923    
Hawaii Introduced c. 1945   Noted for pineapple like taste. Eating
Heyer 12     Very cold-tolerant Eating
Honeycrisp Minnesota 1960 Has excellent eating and keeping qualities. Mottled red and yellow color. Good crunch when in prime condition. Eating
Honeygold Minnesota 1969   Eating
Howgate Wonder Isle of Wight, 1915 1960   Cooking
Idared Idaho 1942 Very crunchy. Stores fairly well. Eating
Irish Peach Kilkenny, Ireland 1800 Apple excellent for baking. Early harvest. More difficult to find within land of origin due to primary use for export to UK. Hardy. Eating and baking
James Grieve Edinburgh, Scotland 1893 Good taste, but poor keeper. Eating or cooking
Jonagold New York 1968 Several high colored strains are available. Popular in Europe and land of origin. A very large apple, good when fried in a pan with butter and cinnamon. Excellent, hearty snack. Eating
Jonathan New York 1920s, elsewhere in United States tart Eating and cooking (pie)
Kidd's Orange Red New Zealand   Cox's Orange Pippin x Delicious Eating
Katy Sweden 1947 Medium sized early eating apple with red skin and pale cream flesh. Well suited to Northern European climate. Eating
Karmijn de Sonnaville Wageningen, Netherlands 1949 Yellow groundcolour when ripe, with red flush, and russet depending on the season. Large apple, though shape can be irregular. Eating and apple juice
Kerry Pippin County Antrim, Ireland [c. [1805]] Pale to golden yellow flesh. Delightful spicy taste. Eating
Knobbed Russet Sussex, England 1819 Green and yellow, with rough and black russet. Unusually irregular, warty and knobbly surface. Eating and cider
Lane's Prince Albert       Cooking
Laxton's Superb England 1897 Wyken Pippin x Cox's Orange Pippin Eating
Lodi Ohio 1911   Eating
Liberty New York 1978 Very disease resistant. Very similar appearance to McIntosh, relatively short storage life in air. Eating
Lord Derby England c. 1850 Cooking
Lord Lambourne England 1921 (Introduced); James Grieve x Worcester Pearmain Eating
Macoun Canada 1923 cold-tolerant Eating
Mantet Manitoba, Canada 1929 (Introduced)   Eating
McIntosh Ontario,Canada 1811 Cold-tolerant; a very popular eating apple in Canada and northeastern USA. Eating
Melrose Ohio Introduced 1944   Eating
Merton Worcester John Innes Institute, England   Cox's Orange Pippin x Worcester Pearmain, Eating
Miller's Seedling Newbury, Berkshire, England 1848   Eating
Mollie's Delicious       Eating
Muscadet de Dieppe Normandy, France c. 1750 Commonly used in making Calvados liquor  
Mutsu Aomori Apple Experiment Station in Japan from Golden Delicious x Indo 1930 Known as Crispin in the UK Eating
Newtown Pippin New York 1759, Oregon Among oldest known cultivars in North America. Known favorite of Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.[citation needed] Also sometimes called Albemarle Pippin. Eating or cooking.
Newton Wonder       Cooking
Northern Spy New York c. 1800 tart, firm, stores very well Cider, eating, cooking (esp. pies)
Orleans Reinette France c.1776   Eating
Ozark Gold       Eating
Pacific Rose New Zealand c.1995 Extremely crisp, sweet, apple Eating
Paula Red Kent County, Michigan c.1960 Firm white flesh, McIntosh mutation Eating
Peasgood's Nonsuch England 1858   Cooking
Pixie       Eating
Pink Pearl California 1944   Eating
Pinova Germany 1986    
Pound Sweet       Cooking
Red Astrachan Russia c. 1800     Cooking
Red Delicious Iowa 1870s, elsewhere in United States and worldwide Sometimes referred to as Starking Delicious or variation. Unmistakable for bright red color and prongs on bottom. Eating
Rhode Island Greening Newport, Rhode Island approx. 1650 A very green and very tart apple. Good for baking. Cooking
Rev. W. Wilks       Cooking
Ribston Pippin Yorkshire, Great Britain 1707   Eating
Rome Beauty Ohio early 1800s    
Royal Gala New Zealand c.1960 Higher colored selection of Gala (see above). Many commercial strains are available.  
Sonya New Zealand   Cross between a Red Delicious and Gala Eating
Spartan British Columbia 1926   Eating
Spitzenberg Esopus, New York mid 18th century   Eating and cooking
Stark Earliest USA 1938   Eating
Stayman Winesap USA 1866   Eating, cooking and cider
St Edmund's Pippin   c. 1870   Eating
Sunset       Eating
Sweet Sixteen Minnesota 1973   Eating
Tolman Sweet United States 1822   Cooking and cider
Tydeman's Earlyworcester England 1929 Mclntosh x Worcester Pearmain Eating
Tydeman's Late Orange England 1930   Eating
Warner's King       Cooking
Wealthy Minnesota 1860   Eating
Winesap United States 1817 Sweet with tangy finish. Eating and cider
Worcester Pearmain Worcestershire, England 1873   Eating

Cider apples

Cider apples may be too sour or bitter for fresh eating, but are used for making cider. Some apples are used both for cider and eating.

Common name Origin First developed
Dymock Red    
Kingston Black    
Roxbury Russet Massachusetts c. 1640s
Stoke Red    
Baldwin (apple) Wilmington, Massachusetts c. 1740
Yeovil Sour (apple) Yeovil, Somerset c. 1824

Rootstock cultivars

Selection of rootstock cultivars can be difficult: vigorous roots tend to give trees that, while healthy, grow too tall to be harvested easily without careful pruning, while dwarfing rootstocks result in small trees easy to harvest from, but often shorter-lived and sometimes less healthy. Most modern commercial orchards use one of the "Malling series" (aka 'M' series), introduced or developed by the East Malling Research Station from the early 20th century onward. However, a great deal of work has been done recently introducing new rootstocks in Poland, the US (Geneva), and other nations. The Polish rootstocks are often used where cold hardiness in needed. The Geneva series of rootstocks has been developed to resist important diseases such as fireblight and collar rot, as well as for high fruit productivity.

Some of these links are to commercial sites, but contain useful information on various apple cultivars. Eventually the (non-copyrighted) information from these links should be merged onto the chart here.

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