From the Living Museum
King David
- Origin
- Washington County, Arkansas; found in a hedgerow in 1893 and introduced by Stark Bros. of Missouri in 1902 (often said to be Jonathan × Arkansas Black, but unproven)
- Era
- Found 1893; introduced 1902
- Type / use
- Dessert · Dual-purpose
From the ArchiveFilm
Watch its story
Found in a Fence Row
A short narrated history of King David, told through the archive illustrations of our apple collection.
Illustrations: Amanda Newton (1909) and Deborah Griscom Passmore (1906), USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection, National Agricultural Library (public domain). Narrated with a synthetic voice.
Watch on YouTubeHistory & Stories
Medium dark-red fruit with firm, spicy, aromatic flesh and excellent storage. Unique as a tough, productive, dual-purpose Southern/Midwestern variety that combines the spice of Jonathan with the keeping quality of Arkansas Black.
Folklore & Name
Late 19th-century American variety (often described as Jonathan × Arkansas Black). Name has biblical resonance (King David). Tough, spicy, dual-purpose Southern/Midwestern type.
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
King David is an Arkansas apple. The UK National Fruit Collection records that it was "discovered in 1893 in a hedgerow in Washington County, Arkansas" and "introduced in 1902 by Stark Bros." of Louisiana, Missouri, the famous nursery 1. It describes the fruit as having "rather coarse flesh with a subacid, slightly sweet flavour" 1. Beyond that, we found little in the older pomologies, since it came along after most of them were written.
The competing accounts
- UK National Fruit Collection 1: a hedgerow find of 1893 in northwest Arkansas (Washington County), put on the market by Stark Bros. in 1902.
- It is often said to be a Jonathan × Arkansas Black cross; we found no record or published DNA study behind this.
Most likely (our judgment, not a certainty): a chance seedling from Washington County, Arkansas, with unknown parents. The hedgerow find is documented, and the Jonathan × Arkansas Black idea rests only on resemblance.
What we think: stories & traditions
Jonathan × Arkansas Black? (theory) King David is often described as a cross of Jonathan and Arkansas Black. A tree found growing wild in a hedgerow has no recorded parents, so this is a guess based on its looks and flavor, not a documented pedigree. We have not found a published DNA study that settles it.
A hedgerow foundling. Many great American apples began this way: a seedling sprouting where a bird or a tossed core left it, noticed by someone who took the trouble to taste it. This one was lucky enough to be noticed by one of the biggest nurseries in the country, which sent it out under its royal, biblical name 1.
Sources
- UK National Fruit Collection, "King David." www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full2.php?id=3223&fruit=apple
Curious about King David?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.