Oconee Greening
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Origin/History
Origin, banks of the Oconee river, a little below Athens, Georgia. Elliott attributes the description to the "Ad. Int. Rept., Ga. H. Sc." (presumably the Agricultural Report of the Georgia Horticultural Society).
Tree
Vigorous and abundant bearer (Downing).
Bark, twigs, lenticels, buds, leaves: Not described in source.
Fruit
Size: Downing describes the fruit as large. Elliott and Thomas both describe it as very large.
Form: Roundish flattened. Thomas describes the form as roundish-oblate. Thomas notes the variety resembles Disharoon.
Stem: Stalk very short, in a rather regular, deep cavity.
Cavity: Rather regular, deep.
Calyx: Open, in a shallow, slightly furrowed basin.
Basin: Shallow, slightly furrowed.
Skin: Yellow, a little brownish in the sun, russet about the stem, with a few scattered russet dots.
Flesh/Flavor: Yellowish, fine-grained, crisp, abounding in a delightful aromatic, lively, subacid juice.
Quality: Downing rates it "good to very good." Thomas rates it "very good." Elliott, citing the Georgia Horticultural Society report, rates it "best."
Core/Seeds: Not described in source.
Season
Downing gives October, November. Thomas gives winter.
Uses
Not described in source.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
The Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914) lists Oconee Greening in a variety-characteristic table only:
Description absent; variety present in variety-characteristic table.
Oconee Greening. M ob yr VG b W 1*
Book Sources
Described in 4 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 1 catalog (1886) from Alabama
- Huntsville Wholesale Nurseries (Jessie S. Moss , Proprietor; W.F. Heikes, Manager), Huntsville , Alabama — 1886
View original book sources (4)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Oconee Greening.
Origin, banks of the Oconee river, a little below Athens, Ga. Tree vigorous and abundant bearer.
Fruit large, roundish flattened, yellow, a little brownish in the sun, russet about the stem, with a few scattered russet dots. Calyx open, in a shallow, slightly furrowed basin. Stalk very short, in a rather regular, deep cavity. Flesh yellowish, fine-grained, crisp, abounding in a delightful aromatic, lively, subacid juice. Good to very good. October, November.
— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)Oconee Greening. M ob yr VG b W 1*
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)Oconee Greening.
Origin, banks of the Oconee river, a little below Athens, Ga. Fruit very large, roundish flattened : skin, yellow, a little brownish in the sun, russet about the stem, with a few scattered russet dots; calyx, open, in a shallow, slightly-furrowed basin; stalk, very short, in a rather regular, deep cavity; flesh, yellowish, fine-grained, crisp, abounding in a delightful aromatic, lively, sub-acid juice ; quality, "best." — (Ad. Int. Rept., Ga. H. Sc.)
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Oconee Greening. Very large, roundish-oblate, yellow; lively sub-acid, aromatic, very good. Resembles Disharoon. Winter. Ga.