Hudson's Golden Gem Apple

Hudson's Golden Gem was discovered in 1931 by A.D. Hudson, owner of Hudson Nursery in Tangent, Oregon, who noticed a small, unplanted apple tree growing wild in a dense hedgerow along one of the nursery's fences. Because of its elongated, conical shape and rough, brownish-gold russeted skin, the apple was distinctive enough in appearance that it was reportedly, at least briefly, marketed as resembling a pear rather than an apple when first introduced. The fruit is genuinely one of the largest known russet-type apples, with crisp, juicy, sweet, distinctly nutty-flavored yellow flesh, and it hangs well on the tree into the winter months, storing for an extended season. The tree shows real resistance to apple scab and other common diseases, and is valued by home orchardists specifically for that hardiness alongside its unusual flavor and appearance.