"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