From the Living Museum
Thornberry
- Origin
- Humboldt County, California; bred by Albert Etter in the early 1940s (selection Etter 16-32) and registered as Thornberry in 1990
- Era
- Bred early 1940s; named 1990
Portrait to be revealed
History & Stories
A red-fleshed apple bred by Albert Etter from his Surprise apple, found again on an old tree near Whitehorn, California, and registered as Thornberry in 1990 1,2. Collectors’ variety.
Folklore & Name
Bred by Albert Etter in the 1940s and named Thornberry by the growers who rescued it in 1990 1,2. Limited information; personal notes from my orchard will add value.
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
Thornberry is a red-fleshed apple bred by Albert Etter, the Humboldt County, California, plant breeder. In the early 1940s, at his Briceland orchard, he raised about 40 varieties for the California Nursery Company, using his red-fleshed Surprise apple as the foundation 1. Only seven appeared in the company's 1944–45 catalogue, and the rest were forgotten 1. Long afterwards, the Greenmantle Nursery growers Ram and Marissa Fishman came across selection Etter 16-32 on an old tree in an abandoned orchard near Whitehorn, California. They propagated it and registered it as Thornberry in 1990 1,2. Greenmantle describes the flesh as "the color of raspberry ice cream" 2.
What we think: stories & traditions
Rescued just in time. Greenmantle's account of its Etter apples suggests how close they came to being lost; another of them, it says, was saved shortly before "the sole specimen tree was bulldozed by cows" 2. Thornberry came through the same search 1,2.
Sources
- Pomiferous, "Thornberry." pomiferous.com/applebyname/thornberry-id-8857
- Greenmantle Nursery, "Rosetta Apples." www.greenmantlenursery.com/fruit/rosetta-apples.htm
Curious about Thornberry?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.