Cultivar 7: Keo

Keo is a crabapple introduced in 1940. N. E. Hansen described it as a seedling of the Amur crabapple, probably selfed because the parent tree stood far from other apple trees. He presented it in his South Dakota hardy fruit work in the section on improving the Siberian crabapple. This places it within the station's broader effort to develop better hardy crabapples for the northern plains. [S1]

The fruit is about 1 7/8 inches across. It is oblate and regular, with a flat basin. Its most notable feature is its color: an intense, polished, bright crimson red, darker on the sun side. Hansen contrasted it with the duller crabapples then on the market and treated that bright finish as one of its main merits. [S1]

Keo has white flesh and a crisp, juicy, pleasantly acid flavor. The sauce is red tinted and described as excellent, and the slices keep their shape in cooking, which makes it more than an ornamental crab. Hansen also said the fruit keeps well and does not soften easily, a trait he linked to its Amur crab background. [S1]

The tree is described as a very heavy bearer. Hansen also thought the fruit had clear market appeal, writing that it would attract attention and could sell on sight because of its bright red color. [S1]

The cited source gives no direct zone rating. Its hardiness is implied by its Amur crabapple parentage and by its place in Hansen's northern plains breeding and selection program for hardy crabapples. [S1]

Keo is part of the early prairie and northern plains search for crabapples that were not only hardy and productive, but also vivid in color and useful in the kitchen. The surviving description shows that aim clearly: a handsome red crab with good cooking quality, firm texture, and heavy crops. [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

“The Amur tree was standing far from other apple trees, supporting the inference that Keo is a selfed seedling.”
— ^[1]

“Listed in the table of contents under "IMPROVING THE SIBERIAN CRABAPPLE" with entry page 9.”
— ^[1]

“The entry contrasts Keo's bright red color with duller crabapples already on the market.”
— ^[1]

“Fresh fruit is crisp, pleasant, juicy, and acid.”
— ^[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

• The fresh fruit is a crisp, pleasant juicy acid, just what is wanted in a crab; it also stands up well, a characteristic derived from the Amur crab which does not soften easilyNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p10
• The fruit is 1 Ys inches across, oblate, regular; with a flat basin; flesh white, sauce red-tinted, of excellent quality; the slices retain their shape in cookingNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p10
• The color is really remarkable; an intense polished bright crimson red all over, shaded deeper on the sun sideNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p10
• Since the market demand is so strong towards bright red color, this new seedling will attract attentionNew Hardy Fruits for the Northwest, p10

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context