Lady Finger
Apple
Lady Finger
Origin / History
Several distinct varieties have circulated under the name Lady Finger, none of which has been grown to any considerable extent in New York (Beach Vol. 1). The name appears in American pomological literature from at least 1817, when Coxe described it under the heading "Lady Finger, or Long Pippin." Subsequent writers (Thacher 1822, Elliott 1854, Hooper 1857, Warder 1867, Downing 1869, Hogg 1884, Bailey 1892, Thomas 1897) cataloged it under multiple, partially conflicting descriptions. Downing additionally received an apple from Maryland under this name. Hogg distinguished a "Lady's Finger of Hereford" (a red cider apple) and a "Lady's Finger of Lancaster" (a greenish-yellow culinary apple). Hooper recognized Lady Finger as a synonym of Kaighn, but according to Downing this was erroneous, the correct name for that variety being Red Winter Pearmain. Warder gave "Red Lady Finger" as a synonym of Red Winter Pearmain and "Lady Finger Pippin" as a synonym of Red Winter Pippin. Hogg gave "Lady's Finger of Kent" as a synonym for Smart's Prince Arthur, and "Lady's Finger" as a synonym for White Paradise; Thomas likewise gave Lady Finger as a synonym of White Paradise.
Tree
Coxe: of very delicate growth, with small limbs. Coxe also notes it is an abundant bearer. Thacher: the tree bears abundantly. Other sources do not describe the tree.
Fruit
Size
- Coxe: remarkably long — more remarkably long than any apple he had seen.
- Hogg (as cited by Downing): below medium.
- Elliott: medium.
- Downing's Maryland apple / Beach Vol. 2: medium size.
Form
- Coxe: oblong and pointed towards the blossom end.
- Hogg (as cited by Downing): pyramidal, rounded at base.
- Elliott: oblong.
- Thacher: long, tapering.
- Downing's Maryland apple: roundish conical.
Stem / Stalk
- Downing's Maryland apple: stalk short.
- Other sources: not described.
Cavity
- Downing's Maryland apple: rather deep.
- Other sources: not described.
Calyx
- Downing's Maryland apple: closed.
- Other sources: not described.
Basin
- Downing's Maryland apple: large, deep, corrugated.
- Other sources: not described.
Skin
- Coxe: greenish yellow.
- Hogg (as cited by Downing): dull greenish yellow, with minute gray russety dots, dull blush and spots of lively red in the sun.
- Elliott: pale yellow, faint blush (Beach paraphrases Elliott as "pale yellow, often blushed").
- Thacher: a beautiful yellow and red color.
- Downing's Maryland apple / Beach Vol. 2: yellowish, shaded over the whole surface with deep crimson (Beach Vol. 2: "nearly overspread with deep crimson"), thinly sprinkled with light dots.
Flesh / Flavor
- Coxe: pleasant, but much inferior in flavour to the Newton pippin.
- Hogg (as cited by Downing): yellow, tender, juicy, pleasantly acid.
- Elliott: firm, watery.
- Thacher: well flavored.
- Downing's Maryland apple / Beach Vol. 2: white, tender, moderately juicy, pleasant subacid; good to very good.
Core / Seeds
- Downing's Maryland apple: core small.
- Other sources: not described.
Season
- Coxe: early winter fruit; does not keep well.
- Hogg (as cited by Downing): November to March.
- Elliott: November, December.
- Thacher: keeps till June.
- Downing's Maryland apple / Beach Vol. 2: August.
Uses
Not specifically described as to use for most strains. Hogg's "Lady's Finger of Hereford" was a cider apple and his "Lady's Finger of Lancaster" was a culinary apple, but these are distinguished by Hogg from the apples Coxe, Elliott, and others described simply as "Lady Finger."
Subtypes / Variants
The sources document at least four distinct apples that have circulated under the name Lady Finger:
- Coxe's Lady Finger (or Long Pippin) — remarkably long, oblong and pointed at the blossom end, greenish yellow skin, pleasant flesh inferior to Newton Pippin, early winter, poor keeper, abundant bearer, delicate tree with small limbs.
- Thacher's Lady Finger — long, tapering, beautiful yellow and red, well flavored, keeps till June, tree bears abundantly.
- Elliott's Lady Finger (Sheepnose / Sheep Nose) — medium, oblong, pale yellow with faint blush, flesh firm and watery, November to December.
- Hogg's Lady Finger (as cited by Downing) — below medium, pyramidal and rounded at base, dull greenish yellow with minute gray russety dots and dull blush with spots of lively red in the sun, flesh yellow, tender, juicy, pleasantly acid, November to March.
- Downing's Maryland Lady Finger (the apple Beach Vol. 2 treats as the primary Lady Finger) — medium size, roundish conical, yellowish nearly overspread with deep crimson, thinly sprinkled with light dots, short stalk, rather deep cavity, closed calyx, large deep corrugated basin, white tender moderately juicy pleasant subacid flesh, good to very good, core small, season August.
Other
The confusion between these strains is itself a key identification consideration: the name Lady Finger has been applied to apples ranging from early-winter greenish-yellow elongated pippins (Coxe) to August-ripening crimson-overspread roundish-conical fruits (Downing's Maryland sample). The name has also been confused or used as a synonym for Kaighn, Red Winter Pearmain, Red Winter Pippin, Smart's Prince Arthur, and White Paradise across various 19th-century authorities, though Downing rejected the Kaighn equation as erroneous.
Book Sources
Described in 5 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 3 catalogs (1886–1901) from Alabama, Illinois
- 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
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
View original book sources (5)
— William Coxe, A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees (1817)No. 80. Lady Finger.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Lady Finger, Or Long Pippin", pp. 219–220]
NO. 80. LADY FINGER, OR LONG PIPPIN.
The form is oblong and pointed towards the blossom end, more remarkably long than any apple I have seen—the skin is a greenish yellow; the flesh pleasant, but much inferior in flavour to the Newton pippin; it is an early winter fruit: does not keep well, but is an abundant bearer: the tree is of very delicate growth, with small limbs.
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)Lady Finger. Sheep Nose. Medium, oblong, pale yellow, faint blush ; flesh, firm, watery. November, December.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Lady Finger.
Under this name Hogg describes an Apple as : Fruit below medium, pyramidal, rounded at base, dull greenish yellow, with minute gray russety dots, dull blush and spots of lively red in the sun. Flesh yellow, tender, juicy, pleasantly acid. November to March.
Coxe describes an apple as Lady Finger or Long Pippin, as remarkably long, greenish yellow. Flesh pleasant, early winter, but does not keep well.
Elliott describes under name of Lady Finger, synonym Sheep Nose, an apple as medium size, oblong, pale yellow, faint blush. Flesh firm, watery. November, December.
We have also received an apple from Maryland under this name which is of medium size, roundish conical, yellowish, shaded over the whole surface with deep crimson, thinly sprinkled with light dots. Stalk short. Cavity rather deep. Calyx closed. Basin large, deep, corrugated. Flesh white, tender, moderately juicy, pleasant subacid. Good to very good. Core small. August.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 1 (1905)LADY FINGER.
REFERENCES. 1. Coxe, 1817:146. fig. 2. Thacher, 1822:129. 3. Elliott, 1854:173. 4. Hooper, 1857:52. 5. Warder, 1867:724. 6. Downing, 1869:245, 329. 7. Ib., 1876:55 app. 8. Hogg, 1884:127. 9. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:243. 10. Thomas, 1897:642.
Several different varieties of apples are known in cultivation under the name Lady Finger but none of these is grown to any considerable extent in New York. Coxe (1) describes Lady Finger or Long Pippin as a variety of very delicate growth with small limbs, fruit remarkably long, skin greenish-yellow, season early winter. Thacher's (2) description of Lady Finger is that it "is a long, tapering fruit, of a beautiful yellow and red color. It is well flavored, keeps till June. The tree bears abundantly."
Elliott (3) describes Lady Finger, synonym Sheepnose, "as medium, oblong, pale yellow, often blushed. Flesh firm, watery. Season November, December."
Hooper (4) recognizes Lady Finger as a synonym of Kaighn, but erroneously, according to Downing, who gives Red Winter Pearmain as the correct name for this variety.
Warder (5) gives Red Lady Finger as a synonym of Red Winter Pearmain and Lady Finger Pippin as a synonym of Red Winter Pippin.
Downing (6, 7) recognizes the varieties described under the name Lady Finger by Hogg, Coxe, and Elliott as mentioned above and adds the description of still another variety which he received under this name from Maryland, the fruit of which is roundish conical, yellowish, shaded with deep crimson, subacid, good to very good; season August. He also gives Lady Finger as an erroneous synonym for Kaighn and Red Lady Finger as a synonym for Red Winter Pearmain.
Hogg (8) describes a red cider apple under the name Lady's Finger of Hereford and a greenish-yellow culinary apple in season from November to March under the name Lady's Finger of Lancaster. He also gives Lady's Finger of Kent as a synonym for Smart's Prince Arthur, and Lady's Finger as a synonym for White Paradise.
Thomas (10) gives Lady Finger as a synonym of White Paradise.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)LADY FINGER.
REFERENCE. 1. Downing, 1869:245.
SYNONYMS. None.
Under this name Downing (1) describes an apple which he received from Maryland, the fruit of which is of medium size, yellowish, nearly overspread with deep crimson; flesh white, tender, pleasant subacid, good to very good; season August.
Other varieties have been known under the name Lady Finger several of which have already been mentioned in the discussion of the winter apples. See Vol. I, page 183.