Anis

Origin / History

Anis is of Russian origin. It belongs to a family of apples grown on a large scale on the upper Volga in Russia, all of which Thomas calls "valuable for cultivation in the northern limits of fruit culture." Several varieties received from Russia proved so nearly identical that, in Budd and Hansen's words, only one "is regarded as necessary in fruit lists to represent the group."

The Russian Apple Nomenclature Commission adopted the standard description of the variety. The Commission was appointed by the State Horticultural Societies of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, and held a meeting at La Crosse, Wis., Aug. 30 and 31, 1898.

In the Commission remarks printed by Hansen (1902), A. G. Tuttle moved "that all be discarded, owing to small size." J. S. Harris seconded the motion, holding that "for milder sections the Anis group is too small." Budd and Hansen likewise call the fruit too small for mild climates.

Planted spring 1890 at the Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz, B.C., among the fruit trees under test.

Tree

Tree medium upright (Russian Apple Nomenclature Commission); a medium grower at Agassiz. Very hardy (Budd and Hansen). Fruit drops easily.

Fruit

Size: Small to medium. The Commission gives 4 to 5. Thomas calls it small; at Agassiz it was of medium size.

Form: Roundish oblate to oblate conical, angular or ribbed.

Stem: Short, stout.

Cavity: Broad, deep.

Calyx: Medium, closed (Russian Apple Nomenclature Commission).

Basin: Broad or wide, irregular, angular; shallow (Thomas).

Skin: Ground light green (Russian Apple Nomenclature Commission) or yellow (Thomas, Agassiz), striped or streaked with red or reddish on the sunny side. Thomas describes it as nearly covered with dark crimson in strips and splashes.

Dots: Not described in source.

Flesh and flavor: Flesh greenish white with a dark green water line around the core (Russian Apple Nomenclature Commission), or white (Agassiz). The Commission calls it tender and juicy; Thomas calls it firm and fine grained, and at Agassiz it was not juicy. Flavor mild acid, "agreeable" to the Commission; subacid and aromatic (Thomas). Quality "best when properly ripened" (Thomas); "poor" at Agassiz.

Core and seeds: Core open (Russian Apple Nomenclature Commission).

Season

Late July to October. The Commission gives September and October; at Agassiz the season was the last of July.

Uses

Not described in source.

Subtypes / Variants

Anis stands for a group of nearly identical Russian importations. Hansen (1902) lists under the Anis group Kursk Anis, Red Anis, Russian Green, Blue Anis, Yellow Anis, Pink Anis, Striped Anis, and Getman's Bean. Budd and Hansen refer the reader also to Blue Anis. J. S. Harris singled out Russian Green to be retained for very cold latitudes, "as it is very hardy, and the tree is blight-proof."

Other

[NOTE: Source text may be incorrect — George Bunyard & Co.'s 1914 catalog entry describes a conical russet dessert apple in season December–January, "introduced to notice in 1830." This does not match the green-to-yellow, red-striped Russian autumn apple of the other sources and may describe a different variety under the same name.] Bunyard's fruit is medium, a conical russet with a dull red cheek; flesh firm, aromatic. Growth weak; a fair cropper; for pyramids only. He calls it "an old variety worth growing for its high flavour." Thomas illustrates Anis as Fig. 432.