From the Living Museum
Limbertwig Ruby
- Origin
- Southern Appalachians; an obscure Limbertwig from the collection of Robert Dudney of Gainesboro, Tennessee
- Era
- Appalachian (Limbertwig strain)
- Type / use
- Dessert · Dual-purpose
Portrait to be revealed
History & Stories
Similar spicy, aromatic character and good storage, with more pronounced red coloration. Unique as a colored variant within one of the most important Southern heirloom groups.
Folklore & Name
Obscure member of the Limbertwig family, preserved by the Gainesboro, Tennessee, collector Robert Dudney, and named for its ruby-red skin 1. Same tough, spicy character with more pronounced red coloration.
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
Ruby Limbertwig has almost no recorded history. Big Horse Creek Farm, the North Carolina heritage nursery that distributes it, calls it "a very obscure Limbertwig from the collection of the late Robert Dudney of Gainesboro, Tennessee" 1. It is a medium, round apple with "rich, ruby-red skin," ripening in October and keeping well 1.
What we think: stories & traditions
Why so little is known. Big Horse Creek Farm points out that many Limbertwigs came from remote mountain districts. They were well loved at home but seldom made it into nursery catalogues, so their histories are patchy or lost 1. Ruby Limbertwig seems to be one of them.
The name Limbertwig itself is old. S.A. Beach found it in print as early as Kenrick's 1832 American Orchardist, and noted that "there are several different apples which are known locally under the name Limbertwig" 2. So the name describes a type of tree, with drooping, willowy branches, as much as any single variety.
Sources
- Big Horse Creek Farm, "Ruby Limbertwig" (2013). bighorsecreekfarm.com/ruby-limbertwig/
- S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 1 (Albany: J.B. Lyon, 1905), "Limbertwig." archive.org/details/applesofnewyork01beaciala/mode/2up?q=Limbertwig
Curious about Limbertwig Ruby?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.