Buncombe
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Buncombe
Origin/History
Buncombe originated in North Carolina. It was also known historically as Red Winter Pearmain. By 1914 it was widely distributed across multiple growing regions, with 4 reporting stations in the Central Division and 9 in the Southern Division of the United States, with additional stations in other divisions, though it was not reported in the Northern Division.
Tree
The tree is a moderate, upright grower and an annual bearer.
Fruit
Size
Medium.
Form
Sources differ on form. Budd & Hansen describe the fruit as roundish oblong, conic, regular, and often unequal. The Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture characterizes the form as roundish oblate.
Stem
Short.
Cavity
Regular, acuminate, deep, narrow; green or slightly russeted.
Calyx
Closed; segments erect, convergent.
Basin
Narrow, smooth, very shallow.
Skin
Surface smooth and waxen; ground color yellowish white, almost wholly covered with deep purplish red, obscurely striped and splashed. Dots obscure, many, minute, white. The Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture summarizes the color as yellow-red.
Flesh/Flavor
Flesh whitish yellow, juicy, tender, mild subacid or nearly sweet, rich, slightly aromatic. Quality good to very good.
Core/Seeds
Core closed, clasping, irregular. Cells elliptical. Tube funnel-shaped, open to core. Stamens marginal. Seeds large, flattened, many.
Season
Winter; January to March.
Uses
Both kitchen and market.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 2 catalogs (1886–1900) from Alabama
- Huntsville Wholesale Nurseries (Jessie S. Moss , Proprietor; W.F. Heikes, Manager), Huntsville , Alabama — 1886
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
View original book sources (2)
— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)Buncombe. Size: medium. Form: roundish oblate. Color: yellow-red. Quality: good. Use: both kitchen and market. Season: winter. Northern Division: not reported. Central Division: 4 reporting stations (also reported in another division). Southern Division: 9 reporting stations (also reported in another division).
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Buncombe (Red Winter Pearmain).—Origin, North Carolina; tree a moderate upright grower, and an annual bearer.
Fruit medium, roundish oblong, conic, regular, often unequal; surface smooth, waxen, yellowish white, almost wholly covered with deep purplish red, obscurely striped and splashed; dots obscure, many, minute, white; cavity regular, acuminate, deep, narrow, green or slightly russeted; stem short; basin narrow, smooth, very shallow; calyx closed; segments erect convergent. Core closed, clasping, irregular; cells elliptical; tube funnel-shaped, open to core; stamens marginal; seeds large, flattened, many; flesh whitish yellow, juicy, tender, mild subacid, or nearly sweet, rich, slightly aromatic, good to very good. January to March.