Last year, Maine fruit explorers discovered a living ‘Drap d’Or de Bretagna’ apple variety that dates back to circa 1820. The tree, tucked away on a farm in Verona Island, is one of the oldest surviving apple trees in North America. Findings suggest that it could be a remnant of early French apple cultivation in nearby Castine, either as a direct relic or as one that was grafted later.
“This discovery reshapes our understanding of apple lineage and emphasizes the importance of preserving heirloom varieties,” says Sarah Alexander, executive director of MOFGA. “We are thrilled about this groundbreaking revelation and the chance to preserve and learn from rare apples at MOFGA’s Maine Heritage Orchard. Such apples may provide lessons of resilience that can inform other aspects of farming amid climate change.”
MOFGA staff will graft a cutting of the ‘Drap d’Or de Bretagna’ onto rootstock this spring, to grow at the Maine Heritage Orchard in Unity, Maine. Having a genetic backup in the orchard will preserve this almost forgotten fruit’s genes for generations to come. Apples are unique in that varieties can not be cultivated true from seed, and therefore require a living tree to provide plant tissue — known as scionwood — for clonal propagation.
Within several years the grafted ‘Drap d’Or de Bretagna’ will bear large, roundish fruits with smooth yellow skin, flecked with gold, red, and green, bringing this piece of culinary history alive for future generations.
The Maine Heritage Orchard, a one-of-a-kind preservation orchard, is home to many other heritage apples that faced possible extinction. The site of the orchard was once an unproductive gravel pit, but through the visionary guidance of former MOFGA Executive Director Russell Libby and apple historian John Bunker, and with the tremendous help of volunteers, MOFGA transformed it into a diverse and abundant orchard. The Maine Heritage Orchard now boasts over 300 rare apple varieties and 20 heritage pear varieties, which otherwise may have been lost to time, making it a critical repository for some of the most unusual apples in the Northeast.
“Resilience is inherent in these heritage varieties,” says C.J. Walke, orchard program manager at the MOFGA Maine Heritage Orchard. “Varieties rediscovered on abandoned farms or near overgrown stone walls have survived centuries, regardless of extreme weather or vigilant pests or varying levels of human interaction.”
Bunker says, “Plants have totally figured it out — how to live together on Earth for millions of years, creating elegantly cooperative communities, all the while improving the air, water, and soil every second of every day. They connect us to places, teach us about grace, cooperation, and collaboration. They are magicians in a world forever in need of magic. On top of all that, we are utterly and completely dependent on them. The plants are truly remarkable creatures.”
