Cultivar 19: S. D. Waldo

S. D. Waldo is a South Dakota crabapple selection from N. E. Hansen's hardy fruit work. Hansen describes it as a cross of Fluke No. 10 and Duchess apple and dates it to 1938.[S1] He places it in the American wild crabapple section of the bulletin, but also says it is 87.5 percent Malus apple and 12.5 percent ioensis wild crab. This helps explain why it reads as a large, apple leaning crab rather than a tiny ornamental fruit.[S1]

The fruit is about 1 7/8 inches across. It is oblate, angular, and truncated, with rich mixed red striping over a yellow ground.[S1] Hansen describes the flesh as a rich aromatic sweet subacid and calls it "an excellent eating crab."[S1] He also reports very good kitchen quality. The sauce is tinted light red, the slices hold their shape in cooking, and fruit that had frozen solid outdoors still cooked into soft slices with a pleasant subacid flavor like a baked apple on January 27, 1940.[S1]

The tree is described as an enormous bearer, though greatly crowded in the seedling row.[S1] Hansen notes the calyx tube and marginal stamens as signs of ioensis influence. This shows that he was reading the fruit botanically as well as horticulturally.[S1]

No formal hardiness zone is given in the cited source.[S1] The strongest direct evidence is practical prairie performance within the South Dakota breeding program and the note that fruit remained usable after freezing outdoors. That observation says more about fruit condition after exposure than about the full winter hardiness of the tree itself.[S1]

S. D. Waldo matters as part of Hansen's effort to tame the American wild crabapple by pushing crabapple material toward better eating and cooking quality without giving up hardiness.[S1] Even in this short entry, it stands out as a selection meant for real table and kitchen use, not just novelty or ornament.[S1]

Summary source basis

• S1: New Hardy Fruits for the Northwest

This summary currently draws chiefly from New Hardy Fruits for the Northwest.

Featured source descriptions

“South Dakota selection indicated by the S. D. prefix.”
— ^[1]

“Listed in the table of contents under "TAMING THE AMERICAN WILD CRABAPPLE" with entry page 15.”
— ^[1]

“The calyx tube is cylindrical and the stamens marginal, showing the influence of ioensis.”
— ^[1]

“The flesh is a rich aromatic sweet subacid.”
— ^[1]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• Parentage is Fluke No. 10 x Duchess apple.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• The fruit was of a pleasant, subacid flavor like a baked apple, the slices retained their shape and yet were softNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p16
• Fruit 1 % inches across, oblate, angular, truncated, color a rich striped mixed red all over yellow groundNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p16
• In cooking, the sauce is tinted light red, the slices retain their shape and the quality is very goodNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p16
• The calyx tube is cylindrical and the stamens marginal, showing the influence of loensisNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p16

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context