Cultivar 16: Forest King

Forest King is a large fruited American wild crabapple noted in N. E. Hansen's South Dakota work and later listed in a Prairie Canada apple reference. Hansen's 1938 bulletin presents it as a named wild crabapple found in the woods near Winnebago, Illinois, about 1904, near the Wisconsin border. He grouped it with material discussed under "Taming the American Wild Crabapple," placing it in the hardy northern plains crabapple tradition rather than among standard dessert apples. [S1][S2]

The fruit is unusually large for a wild crabapple, about 2 1/2 inches across and 2 1/4 inches deep, and weighs about 5 1/4 ounces. Sources describe it as regular round and somewhat truncated, with light greenish yellow to golden yellow skin and many small white or green dots. The flesh is white and juicy. The flavor is acerb and crabby, but milder than that of the ordinary wild crab. [S1]

Forest King was remembered as a useful cooking fruit. Hansen recorded that fruit left to freeze solid in an outdoor cellar and cooked on January 18, 1938, made sauce of quite acceptable quality. He also noted that freezing greatly reduced the acerbity and that the slices stayed tender and kept their shape instead of cooking down to mush. [S1]

The tree was productive in difficult conditions. Hansen wrote that it carried a heavy crop in 1937 after the 1936 drought and again a very large crop in 1939. He also recommended keeping Forest King in collections alongside Mercer, Missouri Giant, and other large crabs, suggesting that it had value as a notable example of this old American wild crab group. [S1]

For broader lineage context, Hansen placed Forest King among the large fruited American wild crabs usually classified as Pyrus Soulardii and regarded by botanists as natural hybrids of Pyrus ioensis and Pyrus malus. This is group context, not stated direct parentage for Forest King itself. A later Prairie Canada source lists Forest King only briefly and marks it with the code ST, without explaining the code on that page. [S1][S2]

Summary source basis

• S1: New Hardy Fruits for the Northwest
• S2: Edible Apples in Prairie Canada

This summary currently draws chiefly from New Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, with 1 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“Listed in the table of contents under "TAMING THE AMERICAN WILD CRABAPPLE" with entry page 14.”
— ^[1]

“The slices were tender and kept their shape instead of breaking down into a mush.”
— ^[1]

“Fruit regular round, truncated with white dots; green to golden yellow, unctuous.”
— ^[1]

“Freezing greatly modified and reduced the acerbity.”
— ^[1]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• No direct breeding_cross claim text yet.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• These large-fruited American wild crabs are usually classified as Pyrus Soulardii, and are regarded by botanists as natural hybrids of Pyrus loensis and Pyrus MalusNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p15
• Fruit regular round, truncated with white dots; green to golden yellow, unctuous, 2 Yz inches across, 2 Y4 inches deep, weight 5 Y4 ouncesNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p15
• The Forest King should be in the collection along with Mercer, Missouri, Giant, and other large crabsNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p15
• Tree had a heavy crop in 1937 following the drouth year 1936; also a very large crop in 1939New Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p15

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context