BYFORD WONDER

Apple

BYFORD WONDER

Origin/History

Origin unrecorded. BYFORD WONDER was introduced by Messrs. Cranstons in 1894 (Bunyard). It is described as being of the Warner's King type (Veitch).

Tree

Growth very vigorous; fertile. Leaf very large, roundish, dark, little upfolded, sharply curved serrate (Bunyard).

Fruit

Size: Very large, measuring 3½ inches wide by 2½ inches tall (Bunyard). Both sources agree on large size; Bunyard notes that the fruit often reaches enormous size on young trees.

Form: Flattened round, nearly regular (Bunyard).

Stem: Short and stout, set in a deep and very wide russeted cavity (Bunyard).

Cavity: Deep and very wide, russeted (Bunyard).

Calyx: Closed (Bunyard).

Basin: Rather deep, a little puckered (Bunyard).

Skin: Dull yellow with conspicuous russet dots (Bunyard).

Flesh/Flavor: Loose, yellowish, sub-acid (Bunyard).

Core/Seeds: Not described in source.

Season

Ripens November to December (Bunyard). An excellent keeper, remaining in condition through April and May (Veitch).

Uses

Culinary (Bunyard).

Subtypes/Variants

Not described in source.

Other

A useful fruit, often reaching enormous size on young trees (Bunyard).

Book Sources

Described in 1 period pomological work

Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 6 catalogs (1900–1917) from England, Illinois

George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900
Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1914
George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1917

View original book sources (2)

BYFORD WONDER. Culinary, November to December, very large, 3½ by 2½, flattened round, nearly regular. Colour, dull yellow with conspicuous russet dots. Flesh, loose, yellowish, sub-acid. Eye, closed in a rather deep basin which is a little puckered. Stem, short and stout in a deep and very wide russeted cavity. Growth, very vigorous; fertile. Leaf, very large, roundish, dark, little upfolded, sharply curved serrate. Origin, unrecorded. Introduced by Messrs. Cranstons, in 1894. A useful fruit often reaching enormous size on young trees.

— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)

Byford Wonder, large, excellent keeper, of the Warner's King type. April & May

— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)