I spotted this spray of wild apples at the park where I walk, back in from the split rail fence, beyond the poison ivy. I had not noticed them before this fall.
These apples remind me of a chapter in Gary Nabhan's book "Where Our Food Comes From." Mr. Nabhan writes about visiting the wild apple forests in Kazakhstan which is where apples originated. He says "when I first stepped into those forests. . . I had to pinch myself. Rather than oaks or beeches or aspens or pines, decades-old trees loaded down with fully ripened apples and pears surrounded us."
According to his book, much of the area of Kazakhstan that is home to wild apples is becoming urbanized and the fear is that many apple varieties that have never been domestically propagated will be lost as the land is cleared for housing. He identifies this area of Asia as the center of origin for most of our planet's fruit tree crops. That's quite something, when you think about it. Apples have come a long way around the world and are a crop that is very key to portions of our diets today.
When you walk or bicycle along M-25 on the east side of Huron County, you can spot wild apple trees along the roadside. One wonders if the two massive fires that burned over this area in the late 1800's caused new tree growth, including the apples. Or, maybe Johnny Appleseed strolled the paths along the shore of Lake Huron and peddled his wares in this part of Michigan.
Copyright 2011
Wanda Hayes Eichler
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