early genitan

Early Genitan may be an ancient cultivar from the UK, France or Maine. It may also be a synonym of White Joaneting, Geneting, Geniton or Yellow Gention, the last of which was historically grown in midcoast Maine. It might also be a really interesting seedling. In the fall of 2001 Sharon Merrow of Rockland contacted me looking for information about a yellow apple in her yard that she was told was called Early Gentian. Although I subsequently visited the tree on several occasions, I never learned how Sharon came up with the name.

When I was giving a talk a month after she first contacted me not far from Rockland at the St. George Historical Society, an elderly man named Dana Smith told me about an apple from Appleton, ME that he remembered from his boyhood. That apple was called “Genitan.” That tree of his memory was apparently long gone, but perhaps they were both speaking of the same variety.

The tree in Rockland was on Mechanic St. across from a small park overlooking the harbor. It had five trunks and an upright, brushy habit, with a nice spread and a massive number of fruit spurs. It had the look of a seedling while simultaneously resembling no seedling I’ve ever seen. While I’m not convinced that it’s the ancient Genitan apple, it is something quite unusual. The round fruit is medium-sized (2 1/8"- 2 3/4") with yellow skin, a rusty-orange blush, and numerous, small, russet dots. It is tart, astringent and oddly flavored, suited to cider and cooking. It holds it shape in a pie or crisp. It ripens in mid-fall. We obtained our scionwood from the tree in Rockland. Currently growing at Super Chilly Farm.