Romanite
Apple
Editor's Note
Romanite
Origin / History
Origin unknown (Downing; Beach). Beach thinks it probable, from the region in which it was being grown when it first became known to pomologists, that it originated in one of the Carolinas or in Georgia. Downing: sometimes confounded or placed as identical with Shockley in North Carolina, where it is much grown, but quite distinct; also distinct from Gilpin, sometimes known as Romanite.
Beach: the name Romanite has been and is still applied to several different varieties. In the earlier history of orcharding in this country it was applied very generally to the Rambo, but that usage has become practically obsolete. The Gilpin or Carthouse apple has also passed under the name of Romanite and is still so called in a great many districts. The true Romanite of today, according to the accepted nomenclature of the American Pomological Society, is the old southern variety, also known in various parts of the South as Little Red Romanite.
Beach: fruit small but of good color and good quality, and keeps remarkably well, this last being one of its chief recommendations in the South, where varieties late enough for the long seasons are usually quite difficult to get. Not recommended by Beach for planting in New York; so far as he knows it is not grown there.
Tree
Vigorous, spreading, very productive. Branches slender. Wood short-jointed, dull grayish brown. Evidently not well adapted to regions as far north as New York (Beach).
Fruit
Size: Small.
Form: Roundish conical, truncated. Lowther's table gives the form code "re".
Stem: Slender.
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: Set in an abrupt basin.
Basin: Abrupt.
Skin: Yellow ground, mostly overspread with clear, light, handsome red; color good (Beach); yellow-red (Lowther).
Dots: Indistinct, light.
Flesh and flavor: Yellowish, fine-grained, juicy; mild, pleasant subacid. Quality good to very good (Downing); Beach says "good quality", Lowther "very good".
Core and seeds: Not described in source.
Season
Winter (Lowther); February to April (Downing). Keeps remarkably well (Beach). Valuable as a keeper (Downing).
Uses
Kitchen and market (Lowther). Valued for the evenness of its fruit (Downing).
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Lowther's station table lists "Romanite (South)": Northern Division 3 reporting stations, Central Division 8 reporting stations, Southern Division not reported.
Book Sources
Described in 3 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 3 catalogs (1901–1913) from Arkansas, Illinois
- Yarbrough Bros. , Stephens , Arkansas — 1901
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913
View original book sources (3)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)ROMANITE.
Broad River. Southern Romanite.
The origin of this Apple is unknown. It has been sometimes confounded or placed as identical with Shockley in North Carolina, where it is much grown, but it is quite distinct. It is also distinct from Gilpin, sometimes known as Romanite. Tree vigorous, spreading, very productive. Branches slender. Wood short-jointed, dull grayish brown.
Fruit small, roundish conical, truncated, yellow ground, mostly overspread with clear, light, handsome red, indistinct light dots. Stalk slender. Calyx in an abrupt basin. Flesh yellowish, fine-grained, juicy, mild, pleasant subacid. Good to very good. February, April. Valuable as a keeper, and for the evenness of its fruit.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 1 (1905)ROMANITE.
References. 1. (?) Phoenix, Horticulturist, 4:471. 1850. 2. Downing, 1869:339. fig. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1871:8. 4. Fitz, 1872:143. 5. Wickson, 1889:247. 6. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:248. 7. Clayton, Ala. Sta. Bul., 47:6. 1893. 8. Stinson, Ark. Sta. An. Rpt., 7:47. 1894. 9. Budd-Hansen, 1903:166.
Synonyms. Broad River (2). Little Red Romanite. (Red Romanite, 1)? Romanite of the South (3, 4). Romanite, South (9). Southern Romanite (2, 8).
The name Romanite has been and is still applied to several different varieties of apples. In the earlier history of orcharding in this country it was applied very generally to the Rambo, but this synonymy has now become practically obsolete. The Gilpin or Carthouse apple has also passed under the name of Romanite and it is still so called in a great many districts. The true Romanite of to-day, according to the accepted nomenclature of the American Pomological Society, is the old southern variety of this name. It is also known in various parts of the South under the name of Little Red Romanite. The fruit of this variety is small but has a good color, is of good quality and keeps remarkably well, this last characteristic being one of its chief recommendations in the South where it is usually quite difficult to get varieties that are late enough for their long seasons. It is not recommended for planting in this state being evidently not well adapted to regions as far north as this.
Historical. The origin of this apple is unknown although it is probable from the region in which it was being grown when it first became known to pomologists that it originated in one of the Carolinas or in Georgia. So far as we know it is not grown in New York.
— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)Romanite (South): size small; form re; color yellow-red; quality very good; use both kitchen and market; season winter; Northern Division 3 reporting stations (variety reported in more than one division); Central Division 8 reporting stations (variety reported in more than one division); Southern Division not reported.