Apple

The word apple is used to identify many varieties of trees (all of which are related to the rose family) as well as the fruit that the trees bear, which varies considerably in size, shape, and color. Apple tree blossoms are particularly pretty and can be white or striped with pink or red. The wood of the apple tree is used in making fine furniture and for wooden casks used to age brandy, and apple wood is utilized for smoking pork products such as ham and bacon. Most of us can remember a particular variety of apple that we enjoyed eating in childhood, or climbing on the moss-covered branches of an old gnarled apple tree that looked as though it had been there forever. In fact, it is not uncommon for apple trees to live a century or more. The longest-lived apple tree in the United States was reportedly planted in Manhattan in 1647 and was still bearing fruit when it was, unfortunately, struck down by a derailed train in 1866.