Galatea

Galatea is a bittersweet seedling with excellent cider potential (1095 SG) that Cammy discovered growing a few yards from the ocean along Carter Point Road in Sedgwick. She named it after our friend Mary Barnes’ boat, the Galatea which was moored nearby. Galatea, in Greek mythology, was a Nereid who was loved by the Cyclops Polyphemus. Galatea, however, loved the youth Acis. When Polyphemus discovered Acis and Galatea together, he crushed Acis to death with a boulder (to make cider?). Galatea is also the name, in some versions of the Pygmalion story, of the statue that Pygmalion creates and then falls in love with. There is a voluptuous statue of Galatea on the Boston Common.

The Galatea fruit is not nearly so voluptuous or dramatic. It is small (4.8 cm - 5.5 cm/1 7/8 - 2”), roundish to slightly conic, yellow with russet netting and a pinkish-orange blush. The basin is very shallow. The stem is medium to long. It resembles a small Gray Pearmain. We obtained our scionwood from the original tree in Sedgwick. Currently growing at Super Chilly Farm.