From the Living Museum
Crow Egg
- Origin
- United States; place of origin unrecorded; in print by 1832
- Era
- 19th century or earlier (American)
- Type / use
- Dual-purpose · Cider
History & Stories
Distinctively elongated or egg-shaped fruit that gives the variety its name. Old American dual-purpose or cider type. Unique primarily for the unusual shape and its place among the lesser-known Southern/Mid-Atlantic heirlooms.
Folklore & Name
American variety named for the distinctly elongated, egg-like shape of the fruit. Old descriptive folk name.
Digging into the History
Below my own notes, here is what the old fruit books and today’s collections record about this apple, kept apart from the stories people tell.
What we know
Crow Egg is an old American sweet apple that was already fading by 1905. S.A. Beach's The Apples of New York lists references going back to Kenrick (1832), Downing (1857), and Warder (1867), under the names Crow Egg and Crow's Egg. He called it "a sweet apple which is still occasionally found in very old orchards but is now practically obsolete," adding that "some esteem it highly for dessert" while Downing thought it "not very good in quality" 1.
The competing accounts
- S.A. Beach, 1905 1: a sweet apple called Crow Egg or Crow's Egg, in print from Kenrick (1832) onward and nearly obsolete by 1905; he gives no place of origin.
- Horne Creek Farm, NC Historic Sites 2: "Crow's Egg" is also a local Southern name for Russet Sheepnose (Black Gilliflower), a different apple.
Most likely (our judgment, not a certainty): the tree here is one of these two, but which one is still open. Beach's sweet Crow Egg is the older documented use of the name; comparing the fruit with both descriptions is the way to tell.
What we think: stories & traditions
Which Crow's Egg? Old apple names were often reused. North Carolina's Horne Creek Farm heritage orchard lists "Crow's Egg" as one of many local names for Russet Sheepnose, also called Black Gilliflower 2. That is a different apple from the sweet Crow Egg Beach described 1,2. So a tree sold under this name could be either, and only careful comparison of the fruit would tell.
We haven't found where or when the original Crow Egg arose. The name probably refers to the fruit's shape and dark colour, but no source says so.
Sources
- S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (Albany: J.B. Lyon, 1905), "Crow Egg," p. 44. archive.org/details/applesofnewyork02beacrich/page/44
- NC Historic Sites, Horne Creek Farm Southern Heritage Apple Orchard, "Apple Index: Red Reese to Rusty Coat." historicsites.nc.gov/all-sites/horne-creek-farm/southern-heritage-apple-orchard/learn-more/apple-variety-information/apple-index-red-reese-rusty-coat
Curious about Crow Egg?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.