Bellflower-Chinese Apple

Bellflower-Chinese Apple 

(in Russian, bel’fler-kitaika), a late-autumn variety of apple tree, derived by I. V. Michurin by crossing the yellow bellflower with the Chinese apple. The fruits are large, weighing an average of 200 g; they are whitish in color with a characteristic rouge of a delicate bright-red glow. The skin is thin and tender. The flesh is snow-white and very juicy; the taste is sweetly tart, spicy, and aromatic, suitable for a dessert apple. The variety is not sufficiently winter-hardy. It starts to bear fruit in the fifth to seventh year and is not resistant to scab disease. The harvest yield is about 1.2 centners per tree. The variety is found in many regions of the middle belt of the RSFSR, in the Volga region, Ukrainian SSR, and Moldavian SSR.