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Ten pioneer-era apple types thought to beextinct found in U.S. West

Image 1. Apples collected by amateur botanists David Benscoter and EJ Brandt of the Lost Apple Project rest on the ground in an orchard atan abandoned homestead near Genesee, Idaho, October 23, 2019. Benscoter and Brandt recently learned that their work in the fall of 2019has led to the rediscovery of 10 apple varieties in the Pacific Northwest that were planted by pioneers long ago and had been thought to beextinct. Photo: Gillian Flaccus/AP Photo

The Lost Apple Project is a group that searches the Pacific Northwest for long-forgotten pioneer

orchards. The group has rediscovered 10 types of apples. The apples were previously thought to

have disappeared. This is the largest number of new apple types ever found in a single season by

the Lost Apple Project.

The group has two members. They are two men named EJ Brandt and David Benscoter. In

October and November, they collected hundreds of fruits. The fruit was taken from orchards that

are 140 years old. The orchards are in canyons or hidden in forests in parts of Idaho and

Washington.

"It was just one heck of a season. It was almost unbelievable," said Brandt. Brandt hunts for the

apples along with fellow amateur botanist Benscoter. "I don't know how we're going to keep up

with that."

By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 04.29.20Word Count 820Level 720L

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Each fall, Brandt and Benscoter hunt for ancient apple trees in the Pacific Northwest. The Pacific

Northwest is a region of North America. Brandt and Benscoter spend hours searching. They travel

hundreds of miles. Each year, they collect hundreds of apples from forgotten orchards. They find

the orchards using old maps and records. The documents tell them what types of apple trees were

bought long ago.

The men match names on the records with property maps. Then, they can determine where an

orchard might have been. They often find a few specimens still growing there. They carefully note

the location of each tree using GPS. They tag the tree with a plastic band. They put the apples in

plastic bags. Then they mail the fruit to Oregon. There, a group of plant experts identifies them.

Growing News Trees Of "Lost" Apple Types

In the winter, Brandt and Benscoter return to the trees. They go on foot or on snowshoes in

freezing temperatures and blinding snow. Once they get to the trees, they take wood cuttings. The

cuttings can be attached to part of the roots of another apple tree. This regrows the "lost" apple

type.

The task is huge. North America once had 17,000 kinds of apples grown by humans. Only about

4,500 are known to exist today. The Lost Apple Project believes settlers planted a few hundred

types of apples in the Pacific Northwest.

Settlers planted orchards with enough variety to get

them through the long winter. Then, as now, trees

planted for eating apples were not raised from seeds.

Cuttings taken from existing trees were attached to a

generic rootstock. Then they were raised to be trees.

Brandt and Benscoter have rediscovered a total of 23

types of apples. The latest finds include the Sary

Sinap, an ancient apple from Turkey, a country in the

Middle East. Another new apple type is the Streaked

Pippin. The apple may have started growing as early

as 1744 in New York.

Botanists from the Temperate Orchard Society identified the apples. They compared the samples

to watercolor illustrations. The pictures were created by the government in the 1800s and early

1900s. The botanists also used old textbooks and reference guides. Some of these books were more

than 150 years old.

Events Canceled Because Of Coronavirus

Now that it is spring, the Lost Apple Project is entering its busiest season. Apple trees everywhere

are blossoming and preparing to fruit.

The Lost Apple Project took a major hit this year because of the coronavirus. The group had to

cancel two big events. It canceled a yearly fair and a class on how to grow a new apple tree from

tree cuttings. The two events earn money for the group. That way, it can pay for their activities for

the rest of the year.

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The coronavirus is a new, flu-like illness. There is no treatment yet, so governments have been

asking people to practice social distancing. This means staying home as much as possible and

keeping a distance from other people to help slow the spread of the virus. Many events around the

world have been canceled.

"Two months ago, I was thinking: 'This is going to be great. We've got 10 varieties that have been

rediscovered,' but .... right now, we couldn't pay our bills," Benscoter said.

Still, the apple detectives take comfort in their work. They find inspiration in imagining the lives of

the pioneers who planted these trees.

"It was a hard life. I can't even imagine what they went through, but they survived and they went

on with their lives," Brandt said. "It's hard now, too, but it's going to be OK. It's all a part of life."

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Quiz

1 Read the Introduction [paragraphs 1-5].

Which selection explains HOW EJ Brandt and David Benscoter keep track of the apples they find?

(A) The group has rediscovered 10 types of apples. The apples were previously thought to havedisappeared.

(B) In October and November, they collected hundreds of fruits. The fruit was taken from orchards that are140 years old.

(C) They find the orchards using old maps and records. The documents tell them what types of apple treeswere bought long ago.

(D) They carefully note the location of each tree using GPS. They tag the tree with a plastic band.

2 Which selection from the article helps the reader to understand that most varieties of apples have disappeared?

(A) They travel hundreds of miles. Each year, they collect hundreds of apples from forgotten orchards.

(B) North America once had 17,000 kinds of apples grown by humans. Only about 4,500 are known to existtoday.

(C) Another new apple type is the Streaked Pippin. The apple may have started growing as early as 1744 inNew York.

(D) The botanists also used old textbooks and reference guides. Some of these books were more than 150years old.

3 How does the information in the Introduction [paragraphs 1-5] support the MAIN idea of the article?

(A) It describes the Lost Apple Project's successful year and explains how they locate "lost" apples.

(B) It introduces EJ Brandt and David Benscoter, the two members of the Lost Apple Project.

(C) It explains how botanists identify varieties of apples that are supposedly extinct.

(D) It illustrates the importance of apples to Northwest pioneers who settled the area in the 1800s.

4 Select the sentence that summarizes the article.

(A) Although Brandt and Benscoter collect hundreds of apples each year, typically only a handful of themturn out to be "lost" varieties.

(B) The Lost Apple Project might not be able to pay all its bills for the year due to restrictions imposed inresponse to the coronavirus.

(C) Organizations in the Pacific Northwest are working together to locate, identify and regrow "lost" varietiesof apple.

(D) Botanists from the Temperate Orchard Society use books and illustrations from the 1800s to identifysupposedly extinct apple varieties.