Striped Gilliflower
Apple
Striped Gilliflower
Origin & History
The Striped Gilliflower and the Scollop Gilliflower were formerly considered identical, but time and experience proved them distinct varieties (Downing). By the early twentieth century the Striped Gilliflower appeared to be practically obsolete in New York (Beach).
Tree
A vigorous grower, generally productive, bearing good crops annually (Downing). Downing further describes long shoots. No additional details of bark, buds, twigs, lenticels, or leaves are given in any source.
Fruit
Size. Large (Warder: "quite large"; Beach: large to very large).
Form. Variable, roundish conic to oblong conic, angular, often furrowed, more or less ribbed — but less ribbed than the Scollop Gilliflower. Warder additionally describes the shape as truncated.
Stem. Short, curved.
Cavity. Wide, brown or russeted. Warder describes the cavity as wide and wavy with brown coloring. Beach describes it as acute, deep, wide, furrowed, brown or russeted.
Calyx. Large, closed or partly open; lobes erect (Beach). Warder describes the eye as large and closed.
Basin. Abrupt. Warder adds "folded." Beach describes it as shallow and abrupt.
Skin. Yellowish-white or greenish ground color, striped, mottled, and splashed with red and carmine. Warder describes the surface as smooth, yellowish white, mixed red, splashed carmine. Downing describes it as white, striped and mottled with bright lively red. Beach describes it as yellowish-white or greenish, partly covered with dull red, striped and splashed with carmine. Thomas describes it as striped bright red on white skin. Note that Downing and Thomas characterize the red as "bright" and "bright lively," while Beach describes it as "dull red" — this may reflect regional or seasonal variation.
Dots. Few, indistinct, gray or white (Beach). Warder describes dots as rare and gray.
Flesh & Flavor. Yellowish-white, breaking, juicy, briskly subacid. Downing describes the flesh as whitish, crisp, juicy, with a brisk, subacid flavor. Warder rates quality as "scarcely good"; Beach rates it fair to good. Downing notes the variety is "a showy fruit, and in some localities, thought much of for market and culinary uses."
Core & Seeds. Core large, sessile, abaxile, with cells wide open; core lines meeting or slightly clasping (Beach). Warder describes the core as large, round, very open, meeting the eye. Carpels tufted (Beach). Calyx tube cone-shaped; stamens median (Beach). Seeds few, small, roundish, plump, obtuse, black.
Season
Warder and Beach give the season as September. Thomas gives the season as winter — a significant discrepancy that may reflect different growing regions or storage behavior.
Uses
Market and culinary. Warder characterizes it as suited for market only; Downing describes it as valued for both market and culinary uses.
Subtypes & Variants
Downing provides a detailed comparison distinguishing the Striped Gilliflower from the Scollop Gilliflower (also called Ribbed Gilliflower, Five-Quartered Gilliflower, or Jellyflower). The Scollop variety is a moderate or poor grower with much darker colored young shoots, a more spreading tree habit, and a poor bearer that had nearly gone out of use by Downing's time. Its fruit is roundish oblate conic, more ribbed than the Striped variety, much darker in color — rather dull red with broader stripes and splashes. The flesh is more yellow, of a mild, subacid aromatic flavor, richer in quality, and ripens a month or more later than the Striped variety.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 4 period pomological works
View original book sources (4)
— John A. Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)Striped Gilliflower.
Fruit quite large, oblong, conical, truncated, ribbed ; Surface smooth, yellowish white, mixed red, splashed carmine ; Dots rare, gray. Basin abrupt, folded ; Eye large, closed. Cavity wide, wavy, brown ; Stem short, curved. Core large, round, very open, meeting the eye ; Seeds Fig. 293.— STRIPED GILLIFLOWER. small, plump, black; Flesh yellowish white, breaking; Flavor sub-acid ; Quality scarcely good ; Use, market only ; Season, September. Less ribbed than the Scalloped Gilliflower.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)STRIPED GILLIFLOWER.—Farley.—Scollop Gilliflower.
These apples were formerly considered identical, but time and experience have proven them distinct. The striped variety is a vigorous grower, with long shoots, and generally bears good crops annually. It is a showy fruit, and in some localities, thought much of for market and culinary uses; the fruit is variable in form and size, usually roundish conical, angular, or more or less ribbed; skin white, striped and mottled with bright lively red; flesh whitish, crisp, juicy, with a brisk, subacid flavor. The scollop variety is a moderate, or poor grower, the young shoots much darker colored, the tree more spreading, a poor bearer, and has nearly gone out of use; the fruit is roundish oblate conic, more ribbed, the color much darker, rather dull red, with broader stripes and splashes, the flesh more yellow, of a mild, subacid aromatic, richer in quality, and a month or more later in ripening, than the striped variety; they are known by the following names and synonyms.
Striped Gilliflower. Striped Bellflower. Scollop Gilliflower, incorrectly. Red Gilliflower.
Scollop Gilliflower. Ribbed Gilliflower. Five-Quartered Gilliflower. Jellyflower. Red Gilliflower, of some.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)STRIPED GILLIFLOWER.
References. 1. Warder, 1867:696. fig. 2. Downing, 1876:69 app. 3. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:250. 4. Burrill and McCluer, Ill. Sta. Bul. 45:342. 1896. 5. Thomas, 1897:654. 6. Budd-Hansen, 1903:181.
Synonyms. Red Gilliflower (2). Scollop Gilliflower, incorrectly (2). Striped Bellflower (2). Striped Gilliflower (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
This variety appears to be practically obsolete in New York. The tree is a vigorous grower and generally productive (2).
Fruit (1, 2, 6).
Fruit large to very large. Form variable roundish conic to oblong conic, often furrowed, angular, but less ribbed than Scollop Gilliflower. Stem short, curved. Cavity acute, deep, wide, furrowed, brown or russeted. Calyx large, closed or partly open; lobes erect. Basin shallow, abrupt. Skin yellowish-white or greenish, partly covered with dull red, striped and splashed with carmine. Dots few, indistinct, gray or white. Calyx tube cone-shape. Stamens median. Core sessile, abaxile, large; cells wide open; core lines meeting or slightly clasping. Carpels tufted. Seeds few, small, roundish, plump, obtuse, black. Flesh yellowish-white, breaking, juicy, briskly subacid, fair to good. Season September.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Striped Gilliflower. Roundish-conical, striped bright red on white skin, brisk sub-acid. Tree a vigorous grower. Winter.