Cox Orange
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Cox Orange
Origin / History
Raised by Mr. Cox at Colnbrook Lawn (the Herefordshire Pomona writes "Colnbrook Lawns"), near Slough, Buckinghamshire, England, from a pip of the Ribston Pippin. The Herefordshire Pomona and Beach, the latter citing Hogg, give the date as 1830, as a report ("said to have been produced"). E. A. Bunyard and the George Bunyard catalog of 1914 give 1825, call Mr. Cox a retired brewer, and say the variety was introduced to notice about 1850 by Mr. Charles Turner. The earliest reference in Beach's list is the Horticulturist of 1858.
Its English standing is of the first rank. Downing calls it an English variety much esteemed for dessert, Thomas very popular in England, and Beach one of the best in quality of the English dessert apples. E. A. Bunyard says it is "generally considered to be the richest flavoured of English Apples." Hedrick calls it "beautiful to sight and delicious in taste" and "one of the choicest of apples."
The Herefordshire Pomona calls it "this excellent apple" and "the best modern addition to the dessert table." It ranks it in excellence with the Ribston Pippin, Golden Harvey, and Nonpareil, finds it "more beautiful than any of them," and says it "should take its place in every garden, however small."
The nursery catalogs call it "the finest dessert apple" (George Bunyard, 1901), "the finest dessert apple in cultivation" (Veitch), "without doubt the highest flavoured apple" (George Bunyard, 1914), and "a good apple; a first-class dessert apple" (Rivers). George Bunyard (1901) adds that "every gardener should plant this grand variety in quantity."
Introduced in America as early as 1850 (Hedrick). Beach says it is sometimes propagated by American nurserymen but has never been extensively planted, and its cultivation is not increasing. Hedrick finds it as yet only sparingly on the Atlantic seaboard. A favorite in British Columbia (Stark). Planted in trial at the Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz, B.C., in spring 1894. Lowther records no division reporting stations.
Tree
Tree medium size or above, a moderate grower with slender growth. The Herefordshire Pomona calls it not vigorous in growth, and Beach moderately vigorous. Branches rather slender; form upright, thickly branched, dense. Twigs long to medium, rather slender, irregularly crooked; internodes medium or below. Bark olive-green, somewhat mottled with reddish-brown, slightly pubescent. Lenticels numerous, conspicuous, medium size, oblong, raised. Buds medium size to rather small, roundish, obtuse, appressed, pubescent (Beach).
Leaves small to medium size and inclined to be narrow. E. A. Bunyard describes the leaf as narrow, rather pale, undulated, upfolded, and crenate.
Well adapted to dwarf stock, Paradise or Doucin. The Herefordshire Pomona finds it, for want of vigor, admirably adapted for dwarfs and pyramids, and says it succeeds best on the Paradise stock, on which it bears freely. Veitch says it forms a large and well-shaped pyramid and also a good standard. George Bunyard (1901) credits it with good habit and says it bears and grows well as a standard. That catalog calls it "A 1 as a garden tree, succeeding in all forms," preferring a warm, rich soil. In America, Hedrick reports, the trees are unthrifty and unfruitful on standard stocks and must be given special care on a dwarfing stock, though the fruits attain the same perfection there as in Europe.
A free, productive, or abundant bearer (Downing, Beach, Veitch, the Agassiz trial). E. A. Bunyard and George Bunyard (1914) call fertility moderate. George Bunyard (1914) names Black Scab as its chief enemy and says the variety "deserves the slight trouble necessary to keep it clear" of it.
Fruit
Size: Medium for most authors, to medium or above (Beach), pretty uniform in size and shape. The Agassiz trial found it below medium, and Rivers calls it large. E. A. Bunyard gives 2¾ by 2½.
Form: Roundish oblate to oblate, sometimes slightly inclined to conic (oblate conical in the Agassiz trial), regular or faintly ribbed, symmetrical, axis sometimes oblique (Beach). E. A. Bunyard calls it round, conical, and regular. The Herefordshire Pomona calls it roundish-ovate, even and regular in outline.
Stem: Short, thick, usually obliquely inclined, sometimes long (Beach). The Herefordshire Pomona gives half an inch long and somewhat fleshy, and E. A. Bunyard moderately stout.
Cavity: Obtuse to somewhat acuminate, shallow to moderately deep, russeted. Beach calls it rather narrow and often somewhat russeted. E. A. Bunyard calls it wide and shallow, always a little russeted. In the Herefordshire Pomona the cavity is covered with russet extending over the base, with a slight swelling on one side.
Calyx: Small. Beach calls it closed or partly open, and E. A. Bunyard half closed with reflexed segments. The Herefordshire Pomona describes the eye as open, filled with stamens, with short erect segments. Calyx tube cone-shaped or funnel-form; stamens median to basal (Beach).
Basin: Very shallow and obtuse to moderately deep and abrupt, rather narrow to moderately wide, smooth or slightly furrowed to slightly ribbed, russeted. The Herefordshire Pomona describes it as somewhat shallow, saucer-like, and entirely lined with russet. E. A. Bunyard calls it very shallow and often russeted.
Skin: Rather thin, tough, smooth. Ground yellow, given as greenish yellow, yellowish, golden yellow, and deep yellow. Over it the fruit is washed with orange-red deepening to bright red and mottled and splashed with carmine (Beach). Downing gives it shaded, splashed, and slightly mottled with crimson nearly over the whole surface. Thomas gives yellow with some red over the surface, and Lowther yellow-red. The Herefordshire Pomona describes the fruit as streaked with red in the shade and dark red where exposed to the sun, this color extending over three fourths of the surface. E. A. Bunyard gives a brownish-red flush with faint stripes, and George Bunyard (1914) orange, shaded and striped dull red. Russet is present (E. A. Bunyard). The Herefordshire Pomona describes it as patches and traces of ash-gray russet over the colored parts, forming a smooth and firm crust. Handsome and beautiful. Beach calls it attractive, especially when highly colored, with the red predominant.
Dots: Conspicuous, large, areolar, with pale gray or russet center (Beach).
Flesh and flavor: Flesh yellow or yellowish, crisp, nearly fine, juicy to very juicy. Firm (Beach) or rather firm (Downing); the Herefordshire Pomona calls it very tender in the grain, and George Bunyard (1914) soft. Beach also calls it tender. Flavor rich, brisk, sprightly subacid or becoming mild subacid, decidedly aromatic. The Herefordshire Pomona calls the flesh sweet, "with a fine perfume." George Bunyard (1901) gives it as "of Ribston flavour," best flavored from low trees on Paradise. Veitch calls it richly flavored. E. A. Bunyard and George Bunyard (1914) call it "of the highest flavour." Quality "very good" for most authors, and "very good to best" in Beach. The Herefordshire Pomona calls it "excellent in flavour," and Rivers "a good apple."
Core and seeds: Core medium size and somewhat abaxile (Beach); Downing calls it small. Cells usually symmetrical, open or closed; core lines clasping the funnel cylinder. Carpels thin, obovate to obcordate, emarginate, usually smooth. Seeds reddish-brown, above medium size, wide, obtuse to acute, often abortive (Beach).
Season
The recorded season runs from September into March. Downing, Thomas, Lowther, and the Agassiz trial give an autumn apple, September and October. The English authors give October or November through January or February, with E. A. Bunyard carrying it to March. Beach gives late September to January, or to early winter. George Bunyard (1901) says fruit from low trees on Paradise, if left on the tree to finish, keeps well into January.
Uses
A dessert apple. Lowther lists it for family use. Beach says it is not recommended for commercial planting but is desirable for the home orchard. Stark calls it "a valuable sort of its season for the home orchard—fine for dessert."
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 7 period pomological works
- Beach, The Apples of New York Vol. 2 (1905)
- The Herefordshire Pomona (1876–1885) — listed as COX'S ORANGE PIPPIN
- Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)
- Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920) — listed as COX'S ORANGE
- Downing, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900) — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914) — listed as Cox's Orange (Pippin)
- Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903) — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 26 catalogs (1888–1917) from California, England, Illinois, Missouri, Oregon, Washington
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1888 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1889 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1890 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1891 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1895 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1897 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Kelway & Son , Langport, Somerset , England — 1897 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Washington Nursery Co. , Toppenish , Washington — 1901 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1906 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Washington Nursery Company , Toppenish , Washington — 1909 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1910 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1910 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1911 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- *Better Fruit* magazine mentions — 1911 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1911 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Ballygreen Nurseries , Hanford , Washington — 1912 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Pacific Nursery Company , Portland , Oregon — 1912 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Washington Nursery Company , Toppenish , Washington — 1912 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Thomas Rivers & Son , Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire , England — 1913 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1914 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1917 — listed as Cox's Orange Pippin
View original book sources (13)
— Woolhope Naturalists Field Club, The Herefordshire Pomona (1885)COX'S ORANGE PIPPIN.
This excellent apple is said to have been produced in 1830 from a pip of the Ribstone Pippin, by Mr. Cox, at Colnbrook Lawns, near Slough, Buckinghamshire.
Description.—Fruit: medium sized; roundish-ovate, even and regular in outline; Skin: greenish yellow and streaked with red in the shade, but dark red where exposed to the sun, and this colour extends over three fourths of the whole surface. Over the coloured parts are patches and traces of ash-grey russet forming a smooth and firm crust. Eye : small and open, filled with stamens and with short erect segments, set in a somewhat shallow saucer-like basin which is entirely lined with russet. Stalk : half an inch long, somewhat fleshy, set in a moderately deep cavity, which has a slight swelling on one side, and is covered with russet extending over the base. Flesh : yellowish, very tender in the grain, crisp, juicy and sweet, with a fine perfume.
This beautiful apple is the best modern addition to the dessert table ; excellent in flavour, and very handsome. It is in season from October to February.
The tree is not vigourous in growth and for this reason is admirably adapted for dwarfs and pyramids. It succeeds best on the paradise stock when it bears freely. It should take its place in every garden, however small, it ranks in excellence with the Ribstone Pippin, Golden Harvey, and Nonpareil, and is more beautiful than any of them.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Cox's Orange Pippin. An English variety much esteemed for dessert. Tree is well adapted for dwarfing on the paradise stock, and a free bearer. Fruit medium, oblate, yellowish, shaded, splashed and slightly mottled nearly over the whole surface with crimson. Flesh yellowish, rather firm, juicy, brisk, rich, subacid. Core small. Very Good. September, October.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Cox's Orange Pippin. Medium, roundish-oblate, yellow with some red over the surface; rich sub-acid, very good. Autumn. Very popular in England.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)COX ORANGE.
References. 1. Horticulturist, 13:168. 1858. 2. Downing, 1869:135. 3. Leroy, 1873:517. fig. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1881:8. 5. Hogg, 1884:55. 6. Thomas, 1885:507. 7. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:237. 8. Bunyard, Jour. Roy. Hort. Soc., 1898:356. 9. Willard, Rural N. Y., 58:754. 1899. 10. Thomas, Garden, 59:34. 1901. figs.
Synonyms. Cos Orange (3). Cox Orange (8). Cox's Orange (3). Cox's Orange Pippin (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10). Cox's Orange Pippin (3). Orange de Cox (3). Reinette Orange de Cox (3).
One of the best in quality of the English dessert apples; in season from late September to early winter. The fruit is of medium size or above medium, red and yellow. When highly colored it is attractive, with the red predominant. The tree is a moderate grower and productive. It is well adapted for growing on dwarf stock, either Paradise or Doucin. It is not recommended for commercial planting, but it is a desirable variety for the home orchard.
Historical. Cox Orange is said to have originated in 1830 from seed of Ribston, at Colnbrook Lawn near Slough, Bucks, England (5). It is sometimes propagated by American nurserymen but it has never been extensively planted in this country and its cultivation is not increasing.
Tree.
Tree medium size or above, moderately vigorous with rather slender branches. Form upright, thickly branched, dense. Twigs long to medium, rather slender, irregularly crooked; internodes medium or below. Bark olive-green somewhat mottled with reddish-brown, slightly pubescent. Lenticels numerous, conspicuous, medium size, oblong, raised. Buds medium size to rather small, roundish, obtuse, appressed, pubescent. Leaves small to medium size and inclined to be narrow.
Fruit.
Fruit medium or above, pretty uniform in size and shape. Form roundish oblate, sometimes slightly inclined to conic, regular or faintly ribbed, symmetrical, axis sometimes oblique. Stem usually obliquely inclined, short, thick, sometimes long. Cavity obtuse to somewhat acuminate, rather shallow to moderately deep, rather narrow, often somewhat russeted. Calyx rather small, closed or partly open. Basin rather shallow and obtuse to moderately deep and abrupt, rather narrow to moderately wide, smooth or slightly furrowed. Skin rather thin, tough, smooth, attractive, washed with orange-red deepening to bright red and mottled and splashed with carmine, over a deep yellow background. Dots conspicuous, large, areolar with pale gray or russet center. Calyx tube cone-shape or funnel-form. Stamens median to basal.
Core medium size, somewhat abaxile; cells usually symmetrical, open or closed; core lines clasping the funnel cylinder. Carpels thin, obovate to obcordate, emarginate, usually smooth. Seeds reddish-brown, above medium size, wide, obtuse to acute, often abortive.
Flesh yellow, firm, nearly fine, crisp, tender, very juicy, rich, sprightly subacid or becoming mild subacid, decidedly aromatic, very good to best.
Season late September to January.
— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)Cox's Orange (Pippin). Size: medium. Form: oblate. Color: yellow-red. Quality: very good. Use: family. Season: early autumn. No division reporting stations recorded.
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)COX'S ORANGE. Her. Pom., 16. F., Orange de Cox; G., Cox's Orangen Reinette. Dessert, November to March, medium, 2¾ by 2½, round, conical, regular. Colour, golden yellow with brownish-red flush, and russet and faint stripes. Flesh, tender, yellow, juicy and of the highest flavour. Eye, half closed, segments reflexed, in a very shallow slightly ribbed basin, often russeted. Stem, moderately stout, in a wide shallow cavity, always a little russeted. Growth, slender; fertility, moderate. Leaf, narrow, rather pale, undulated, upfolded, crenate. Origin, raised in 1825, by Mr. Cox, a retired brewer of Colnbrook Lawn, near Slough, and introduced by Mr. Charles Turner, about 1850. Generally considered to be the richest flavoured of English Apples.
— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)COX ORANGE. Cox's Orange Pippin. Beautiful to sight and delicious in taste, Cox Orange is one of the choicest of apples. Unfortunately, though the fruits attain the same perfection here as in Europe, the trees in America are unthrifty and unfruitful on standard stocks, and must be given special care on a dwarfing stock. The variety is said to have originated in 1830 from seed of Ribston, at Colnbrook Lawn, Bucks, England. Introduced in America as early as 1850, it is as yet found but sparingly on the Atlantic seaboard.
Tree medium or above, vigorous, upright, thickly branched, dense, with slender branches. Leaves small and narrow. Fruit medium or large, uniform in size and shape, round-oblate, sometimes conic, regular or faintly ribbed, symmetrical, axis sometimes oblique; stem obliquely inclined, short, thick, sometimes long; cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, often russeted; calyx small, closed or open; basin shallow and obtuse to deep and abrupt, narrow, smooth or furrowed; skin thin, tough, smooth, washed with orange-red deepening to bright red and mottled and splashed with carmine over a deep yellow background; dots conspicuous, large, areolar with pale gray or russet center; calyx-tube cone-shaped; stamens median; core of medium size, abaxile; cells usually symmetrical, open or closed; core-lines clasping the funnel cylinder; carpels thin, obovate to obcordate, emarginate, smooth; seeds reddish-brown, large, wide, obtuse, often abortive; flesh yellow, firm, fine, crisp, tender, very juicy, rich, sprightly subacid, aromatic; very good to best; late September to January.
— Central Experimental Farm, Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz BC — Catalogue of Fruit Trees under Test (Bulletin No. 3, 1900) (1900)Planted Spring 1894. Tree a moderate grower and a free producer. Fruit below medium in size, oblate conical. Skin yellowish, shaded and splashed with crimson. Flesh yellowish, crisp, juicy, brisk, rich, sub-acid, aromatic, quality very good. Season October.
— George Bunyard & Co., George Bunyard Fruit Catalogue (1901) (1901)Medium, of Ribston flavour, the finest dessert apple; good habit, bears and grows well as a Standard. A 1 as a garden tree, succeeding in all forms, but prefers a warm rich soil. Fruit best flavoured from low trees on Paradise, which, if left on the tree to finish, keeps well into January. Every gardener should plant this grand variety in quantity.
— Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co., Stark Bros. Year Book (1910) (1910)Yellow, shaded, splashed, and slightly mottled with crimson; juicy, brisk and rich. A valuable sort of its season for the home orchard—fine for dessert. A favorite in British Columbia. NC
— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)medium size, handsome and richly flavoured, the finest dessert apple in cultivation, the tree forms a large and well-shaped pyramid and is an abundant bearer, it also forms a good standard ... Nov. to Feb.
— George Bunyard & Co., George Bunyard Catalog of Fruit Trees (1914) (1914)Dessert; Nov.-Jan. Medium, round, orange shaded and striped dull red; flesh soft, very juicy and of the highest flavour; growth and fertility moderate. This fruit is without doubt the highest flavoured apple and deserves the slight trouble necessary to keep it clear of its chief enemy, the Black Scab. Raised in 1825 by Mr. Cox, a retired brewer of Colnbrook Lawn, nr. Slough, and introduced to notice about 1850, by Chas. Turner.
— Thomas Rivers & Son, Thomas Rivers Catalogue of Fruits (1914) (1914)large; a good apple; a first-class dessert apple D Oct.-Jan.