From the Living Museum
Lady
- Origin
- France; the classic Lady Apple (Api), recorded in 1628 and dated by Leroy to the late 1500s (possibly from the Forest of Apis, Brittany)
- Era
- Late 1500s; recorded 1628
- Type / use
- Dessert · Fresh (Lady Apple)
History & Stories
Very small, flattened, red-cheeked fruit with crisp, sweet, aromatic flesh. Extremely late ripening and one of the longest keepers known — traditionally kept for Christmas and New Year. Unique for its miniature size, decorative quality, and deep European historical roots.
Folklore & Name
The classic Lady Apple (Api). Recorded in 1628, and dated by the French pomologist Leroy to the last years of the 1500s; the old claim that the Romans named it is not supported 1. Miniature size, extreme keeping quality, and decorative use at Christmas/New Year made it a European favorite for centuries. Name reflects its refined, ‘lady-like’ character and small size.
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
The Lady apple is the French Pomme d'Api, one of the oldest apples still grown. The great French pomologist André Leroy (1867) dated it to the last years of the 1500s. The first pomologist to mention it, he wrote, was Le Lectier of Orléans in 1628, whose orchard catalogue noted that "Petit Apis et Gros Apis sont de garde" ("Small and Large Apis are keepers") 1. Leroy quoted Jean de la Quintinye, head of the royal kitchen gardens at Versailles, who wrote before 1688 that the Api is "an apple that wants to be eaten greedily, without ceremony, skin and all" 1 (our translations).
The competing accounts
- André Leroy, 1867 1: arose in the last years of the 1500s; first mentioned by Le Lectier of Orléans in 1628.
- UK National Fruit Collection 2: possibly found in the Forest of Apis in Brittany; recorded in 1628.
- Olivier de Serres, 1600, as reported by Leroy 1: named after Claudius Appius, who brought it from the Peloponnese to Rome. Leroy rejected this, because Pliny's Appian apples smelled of quince and the Api does not.
Most likely (our judgment, not a certainty): a French apple of the late 1500s, first recorded in 1628. Leroy's dating rests on the printed record, and the national collection agrees on 1628; the Breton forest is only "thought," and the Roman story was rejected by the leading pomologist of his day.
What we think: stories & traditions
A Roman name? (theory rejected) In 1600 the agronomist Olivier de Serres claimed the Api was named after Claudius Appius, who supposedly brought it from the Peloponnese to Rome. Leroy took the claim apart. Pliny described the Roman "Appian" apples as smelling of quince, and the Api has no such scent. Leroy concluded that the Api "comes neither from Rome nor from the Peloponnese" 1. The Roman story is still often repeated, but the evidence doesn't support it.
An ornament for the table. Leroy called the Api "the ornament of our desserts" 1. Small, bright, and meant to be eaten whole, as La Quintinye said, it has been a table apple for more than four centuries 1.
Sources
- André Leroy, Dictionnaire de pomologie, Vol. 3 (Pommes, A–F) (Paris/Angers, 1867), "Pomme d'Api," pp. 65–66. archive.org/details/dictionnairedepo03lero/page/65
- UK National Fruit Collection, "Api." www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full2.php?id=190&fruit=apple
Curious about Lady?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.