A field note in five parts

Anatomy of an Ambrosia

Honey-sweet, crisp and aromatic—a chance seedling that became a modern orchard favorite.

Sweet, subacidCream fleshRed-over-gold skin
Take a closer look
Botanical illustration of a whole Ambrosia apple and a vertical cutaway showing its pale flesh, core and seeds

From skin
to seed.

Select a numbered marker—or a part in the index—to reveal what each layer does and what makes this cultivar distinctive.

Detailed whole and halved Ambrosia apple used as an anatomy diagram

  1. Smooth and glossy, with a bright red blush and faint stripes over a cream-to-yellow ground.

  2. Cream-colored, firm, crisp and juicy. Ambrosia flesh shows relatively little browning after cutting.

  3. The papery central chambers—called locules—form a star-like arrangement around the fruit’s axis.

  4. Mature seeds are brown. A seed grows a genetically new apple; orchard trees are reproduced by grafting or budding to preserve the cultivar.

  5. The stalk once connected the apple to its spur, carrying water and sugars into the developing fruit.

A lucky find in British Columbia.

Ambrosia began as a naturally occurring chance seedling in Wilfrid and Sally Mennell’s orchard in Cawston, British Columbia. Its parentage remains unconfirmed; Starking Delicious and Golden Delicious are considered possible parents. Budding in 1990 preserved the promising seedling’s traits for later trees.

7.4 cmAverage diameter recorded in the cultivar patent
210–220 gTypical average fruit weight
Mid–late seasonAbout September 16–21 at Cawston, B.C.