Romna
AppleRomna
Origin / History
Origin, Russia. The Russian nomenclature committee report reproduced by Hansen, under the heading "Romna Group," fixes the identity: "The large, round, green winter apple as grown by Mr. Tuttle, of Wisconsin, under the name of Romenskoe, will hereafter be known as the true Romna. This settles the matter definitely, as Hibernal has been mixed with Romna as originally sent out from Russia."
The New York Agricultural Experiment Station received it in 1888 from Dr. T. H. Hoskins, Newport, Vermont, for testing. Beach found the New York fruit to correspond very closely with the illustrated descriptions of Troop and Waugh. It varies considerably from the descriptions of Budd and Hansen, particularly in being usually oblate conic and in season during autumn and early winter instead of late winter and spring.
A. G. Tuttle: "Romna is a good apple, but not one of the first dozen varieties that I would plant." J. Sexton: "Romna is a fine apple." C. G. Patten: "I regard Romna as the most valuable of all the Russians from which to grow seedlings with the hope of getting winter varieties." Beach judges it not worthy of the attention of fruit growers in New York, except possibly where superior hardiness is a prime requisite.
Tree
Tree spreading. Hansen calls it irregular and dwarf, and Tuttle finds the top irregular and the tree a slow grower. Beach calls it vigorous, or moderately vigorous to vigorous. Branches short, stout, curved, crooked and drooping; form spreading, drooping, flat. Twigs short to medium, straight, moderately slender to stout, with large terminal buds; internodes medium to long. Bark brown, somewhat tinged with red, streaked with grayish scarf-skin; slightly pubescent near tips. Lenticels scattering, small to medium, roundish or oval, slightly raised. Buds moderately small to very large and prominent, broad, very plump, acute, free or nearly so, scarcely pubescent (Beach). Sexton: "the largest leaf of any that we have."
Hardy; comes into bearing rather young and yields good crops biennially (Beach). Budd: "This succeeds best on dry soil where its roots run very deep."
Fruit
Size: Medium to large. Hansen calls it large (Size, 6 in the committee entry). Beach gives medium or sometimes rather large, not very uniform in size.
Form: Conical, smooth, varying from round or roundish conical to oblate conic. Hansen and Budd give conical, Hansen adding round and very regular. Thomas calls it oblate, and Beach usually oblate conic, irregularly elliptical, or broadly and obscurely angular, often unsymmetrical with sides unequal, not very uniform in shape.
Stem: Medium length to short, stout, often knobbed (Hansen); pubescent (Beach).
Cavity: Acute or sometimes nearly obtuse, medium in depth to deep, regular (Hansen). Beach gives it medium to rather large, rather wide to narrow, somewhat furrowed, occasionally lipped, russeted and often with conspicuous outspreading russet.
Calyx: Hansen gives the calyx closed; Beach gives it above medium to large, open or partly closed, the lobes often separated at the base, medium in length, rather broad, acute. Calyx tube funnel-shaped, rather long and wide (Beach). Stamens median.
Basin: Narrow to wide, shallow to very shallow, wrinkled. Hansen calls it narrow and very shallow, and Thomas wide and shallow. Beach gives it medium to large, often oblique, moderately narrow to wide, sometimes compressed, abrupt, furrowed and wrinkled.
Skin: Smooth, thick, tough, sometimes partly roughened with flecks of russet (Beach). Green to dark green, greenish yellow, or greenish becoming yellow, more or less blushed. The blush is faint bronze or brownish red on the sun side (Hansen), or dull red (Thomas). Overspread with thin grayish bloom. Well-colored specimens are covered to a considerable extent with pinkish-red, blushed and striped with bright carmine (Beach). Handsomely colored (Budd).
Dots: Numerous, gray or grayish, sometimes pale yellow (Beach). Hansen calls them large and distinct, thickly sprinkled. Beach calls them small, sometimes rather conspicuous.
Flesh and flavor: Flesh firm, juicy. Hansen and Budd give white flesh; Beach gives yellowish. Hansen calls it fine grained; Beach calls it moderately coarse. Subacid, mild (Hansen, Thomas), pleasant (Hansen; "mild, pleasant acid" in the committee entry), briskly subacid and slightly astringent (Beach), "quite acid" (Budd). Quality "good" (Hansen, Thomas); "fair to good" (Beach).
Core and seeds: Core medium to small, axile or nearly so; closed, clasping (Hansen). Beach gives cells closed, core lines meeting or slightly clasping. Carpels roundish ovate, somewhat emarginate, slightly tufted. Seeds medium to small, rather short, narrow, plump, obtuse to acute, rather dark brown (Beach).
Season
The recorded season runs from the last of August to May. Thomas, Budd, and Hansen give a winter season: Budd "midwinter here, and late winter north of 43d parallel," Hansen late winter and spring. Tuttle says it keeps till April or May but "does not get good until April."
As fruited at the New York Station, Beach classes it a fall and early winter apple. It begins to come in season the last of August and first of September, with some fruit kept in ordinary storage till midwinter. The commercial limit is early October, and the season in ordinary storage runs September to January. The Station's 1896 report gave only the last of August and first of September, a statement Beach calls "erroneous because it was incomplete."
Uses
Budd calls it "best for cooking, but when matured it is much better for dessert use than Willow or Missouri Pippin or other coarse sorts found in our markets."
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Illustrated by Thomas (Fig. 465).
Book Sources
Described in 4 period pomological works
USDA Nomenclature (1905)
From W.H. Ragan, Nomenclature of the Apple, USDA Bulletin No. 56
Prof. Budd regards this as identical with Romenskoe.
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 1 catalog (1900)
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
View original book sources (4)
— N.E. Hansen, A Study of Northwestern Apples (1902)Romna (No. 599; Romenskoe)—Origin, Russia—Fruit large, very regular, roundish conical; surface smooth, green, with faint bronze blush; dots distinct, many, large, gray; cavity regular, acute; stem medium, stout; basin narrow, wrinkled, very shallow; calyx closed. Core closed, clasping; tube funnel-shaped; stamens median; flesh white, firm, pleasant subacid, good. Late winter and spring.
" ROMNA GROUP. Romna, 599; Romenskoe. The large, round, green winter apple as grown by Mr. Tuttle, of Wisconsin, under the name of Romenskoe, will hereafter be known as the true Romna. This settles the matter definitely, as Hibernal has been mixed with Romna as originally sent out from Russia.
DESCRIPTION: Romna—Size, 6; form, smooth, round, conical, very regular; color, dark green with brownish red on sun side, covered with grayish bloom, thickly sprinkled with large grayish dots; cavity, acute, deep, regular; stem, medium and stout, often knobbed; basin, shallow, narrow, wrinkled; calyx, closed; flesh, white, fine grained; flavor, mild, pleasant acid; season, late winter and spring; tree, spreading, irregular, dwarf.
A. G. Tuttle: Romna is a good apple, but not one of the first dozen varieties that I would plant. It keeps till April or May, but does not get good until April. Tree has an irregular top and is a slow grower.
C. G. Patten: I regard Romna as the most valuable of all the Russians from which to grow seedlings with the hope of getting winter varieties.
J. Sexton: Romna is a fine apple. The tree is spreading and has the largest leaf of any that we have. " (Rus. Nom. Com.)
Romna.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Romna. Medium, oblate; greenish yellow, dull red blush; cavity deep, basin wide, shallow; flesh firm, mild sub-acid, juicy, good. Winter. Fig. 465.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)ROMNA.
REFERENCES.
- Budd, Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt., 1883:73. 2. Ib., Ia. Agr. Coll. Bul., 1883:29. 3. Ib., 1885:20, 23, 29. 4. Gibb, Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt., 1887:50. 5. Lyon, U. S. Pom. Bul., 2:45. 1888. 6. Budd, Ia. Agr. Coll. Bul., 1890:124. 7. Ib., 1892:7. 8. Ib., Ia. Sta. Bul., 18:520. 1892. 9. Ib., :541. 1892. 10. Troop, Ind. Sta. Bul., 53:124. 1894. 11. Budd, Ia. Sta. Bul., 31:333. 1895. 12. Beach, Paddock and Close, N. Y. Sta. An. Rpt., 15:275. 1896. 13. Thomas, 1897:295. fig. 14. Waugh, Vt. Sta. Bul., 61:31. 1897. fig. 15. Budd, Ia. Sta. Bul., 41:69, 70, 80. 1899. 16. Troop, Ind. Sta. Rpt., 1899:81. 17. Hansen, S. D. Sta. Bul., 76:94. 1902. fig. 18. Budd-Hansen, 1903:168. 19. Beach and Clark, N. Y. Sta. Bul., 248:142. 1904.
SYNONYMS. No. 11 M (1, 2, 6, 7, 9). No. 599 Dept. (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 18). Omensk (4). ROMENSKOE (2, 4, 5, 8). Romenskoe (1, 3, 17, 18). ROMNA (1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19). Romnenskoe (3, 4, 5).
A Russian variety received from Dr. T. H. Hoskins, Newport, Vermont, in 1888 for testing at this Station. It was described in 1896 (12) as being in season that year during the last of August and the first of September. This statement was erroneous because it was incomplete. While the fruit began to come in season during the last of August and the first of September some portion of it was kept in ordinary storage till midwinter. In a subsequent report (19) it was correctly stated that as fruited at this Station the commercial limit of this variety is early October and its season in ordinary storage extends from September to January. It is properly classed as a fall and early winter apple here. The tree is vigorous, hardy, comes into bearing rather young and yields good crops biennially. It does not appear to be worthy of the attention of fruit growers in New York except possibly where superior hardiness is a prime requisite. The fruit corresponds very closely with the illustrated description given by Troop (10, 16) and Waugh (14) but it varies considerably from the descriptions of Budd and Hansen (3, 6, 9, 11, 15, 17, 18) particularly in that it is usually oblate conic and is in season during the autumn and early winter instead of late winter and spring. The following is one of Budd's descriptions of Romna (9, 11). "This succeeds best on dry soil where its roots run very deep. Fruit medium in size, conical, smooth, handsomely colored. Flesh white, firm, quite acid and best for cooking, but when matured it is much better for dessert use than Willow or Missouri Pippin or other coarse sorts found in our markets. Season, midwinter here, and late winter north of 43d parallel."
TREE. Tree moderately vigorous to vigorous; branches short, stout, curved, crooked and drooping. Form spreading, drooping, flat. Twigs short to medium, straight, moderately slender to stout, with large terminal buds; internodes medium to long. Bark brown, somewhat tinged with red, streaked with grayish scarf-skin; slightly pubescent near tips. Lenticels scattering, small to medium, roundish or oval, slightly raised. Buds moderately small to very large and prominent, broad, very plump, acute, free or nearly so, scarcely pubescent.
FRUIT. Fruit medium or sometimes rather large, not very uniform in shape or size. Form usually oblate conic, irregularly elliptical or broadly and obscurely angular, often unsymmetrical with sides unequal. Stem medium length to short and stout, pubescent. Cavity medium to rather large, acute or sometimes nearly obtuse, medium in depth to rather deep, rather wide to narrow, somewhat furrowed, occasionally lipped, russeted and often with conspicuous outspreading russet. Calyx above medium to large, open or partly closed; lobes often separated at the base, medium in length, rather broad, acute. Basin medium to large, often oblique, moderately narrow to wide, sometimes compressed, abrupt, furrowed and wrinkled. Skin thick, tough, smooth or partly roughened with flecks of russet; color greenish becoming yellow more or less blushed and overspread with thin bloom. Well colored specimens are covered to a considerable extent with pinkish-red, blushed and striped with bright carmine. Dots small, numerous, pale yellow or grayish, sometimes rather conspicuous. Calyx tube rather long, wide, funnel-shape. Stamens median. Core medium to small, axile or nearly so; cells closed; core lines meeting or slightly clasping. Carpels roundish ovate, somewhat emarginate, slightly tufted. Seeds medium to small, rather short, narrow, plump, obtuse to acute, rather dark brown. Flesh yellowish, firm, moderately coarse, juicy, briskly subacid, slightly astringent, fair to good. Season September to January (19).
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Romna (No. 599; Romenskoe). — Origin, Russia.
Fruit large, very regular, roundish, conical; surface smooth, green, with faint bronze blush; dots distinct, many, large, gray; cavity regular, acute; stem medium, stout; basin narrow, wrinkled, very shallow; calyx closed. Core closed, clasping; tube funnel-shaped; stamens median; flesh white, firm, pleasant subacid, good. Late winter and spring.