Schoolbus

The originator of this apple, Joel LaValley of Amnicon Apples, suspects it is a seedling of Red Delicious ("but much better").

It has a good bit of the Red D conical taper, and some ribbing. The streaky red color, where it covers the green-yellow, is purer than Delicious's purple-tinged hue, and there are many light tan lenticel dots prominent in the blush.

My samples are small and medium-sized. Now let's see about that "much better" part.

On the bus

Schoolbus has fine-grained flesh that is moderately crisp with a yielding crunch.

Its flavors are light and attenuated, hovering around washed-out vinous lychee, with a little spice. Some samples also had a slight bitterness that I think lies in the peel.

The best one, which may have been the most ripe, also bore a rich, if still attenuated, melon flavor that I liked a lot. Almost like a sweet squash (as in gourd, not soda).

This is pleasant, with a light sweet flavor set that is superior to that of poor old Red Delicious (which well might well be the seed parent). The bitterness, though not dominant, is unfortunate when it occurs.

I can't see Schoolbus faring well in the Honeycrisp era, however. Also (without indulging in RD hate), Red Delicious is a low bar.

Amnicicon's website describes Schoolbus as its flagship apple. For Joel, this variety has special significance:

It comes from my parents' land, where I still live, which is an old, long- abandoned and overgrown farm. The original tree is a fantastical tangle of intergrown trunks sprouted out of the edge of the ditch next to the mailbox.

I grew up eating the fruit from the tree each fall, and it is what prompted me to learn to graft, and start my nursery.

The tree grows at Amnicon Apples, just south of Lake Superior in Northwest Wisconsin.