"In the foothills of the mountain areas of...Turkestan, there are also
forests of fruit trees. In some regions walnuts (Juglans regia), as well as
apples, form the entire woods...The area of wild apples is extensive. In the
Caucasus the fruits of the wild apple are fairly small, but those in
Turkestan are comparatively large. Individual trees there bear fruit which
is not inferior in quality to that of cultivated forms. Some are of
astonishingly large size, and the trees are exceptionally productive. The
whole spectrum of transition from the typically small, sour apple to the
cultivated, perfectly edible type is found. Among wild apples, Malus pumila
with purple-red coloring of the flesh occurs. Here, the whole process of
development from wild apples to [human] acceptable forms, by hybridization
between the species accompanied by mutation, took place without the
intervention of man." - F. Roach, 'Cultivated Fruits of Britain'


I got this quote from a great website www.naturalfood.web

Diane