Apple

Apple, the fruit of the Pyrus Malus, a small tree belonging to the tribe Pomoceae of the order Rosacea:. The apple-tree is wild in Europe and Western Asia, and has been cultivated from prehistoric times, about 2,000 varieties being now recognised. It can be grown up to 65° N. lat., farther north than any other fruit tree, but not within the tropics. Hereford and Devon are noted counties for apples, cider being there largely brewed from this fruit, while Kent is celebrated for table apples; but we also import enormous quantities of apples from the United States, New Brunswick, etc. The apple is distinguished from the allied pear not only by flavour but also by a total absence of gritty particles in its flesh, by the situation of the "core," or carpellary portion, near its base, and by the attachment of the stalk in a hollow or "umbilicus."