Crown

BOTTOMS UP

I've called them "chins" and have also heard "feet." The question, however, is about the true name of the bumps on the calyx end of the apple.

The answer is crown.

I'm an eater, not a grower, and when I set my apple down the calyx end is usually below. Especially if there is a stem, that might be the only stable posture possible.

But growers know that the life of an apple, from bud to fruit, begins with the calyx on top.

Only when the fruit grows ripe and heavy does its weight draw the calyx down as the apple hangs. If it does.

From that perspective, for apples that have ribs that terminate in bumps, "crown" is the obvious term.

A fully crowned apple will have five points, just as it has five seed pockets and five sepals. An apple blossom has five petals.

Five is the number of apple. Slice an apple through its equator and you will see a five-pointed star.

Update: There's more on the crown question.

Thanks to Denise Cross for making her photo of an apple's cross section available via a creative commons license. The photo has been cropped. Other images are mine.