In the wilds of Kazakhstan, there’s an unassuming tree that bears an unassuming fruit. Like many plant species, development encroaches on its usual territory while climate change makes it harder for the tree to thrive and bear healthy yields of fruit.
You probably haven’t eaten this fruit before, but you may have one of its descendants in your house right now. After all, its children have more than 7,500 varieties in an assortment of colors and tastes and textures.
This plant is Malus sieversii. It’s one of the last truly wild apples. But development encroaches on its territory in Kazakhstan, while a hiatus on coal energy has led some Kazakhs to begin burning wood charcoal again — going after the wood of the tree, leaving old growth dead. Too many attempts at re-hybridizing it with other varieties are weakening its genetic heritage. Agricultural expansion is razing the untamed land the apple thrived on. Animals picking at the fruit are leaving the trees barren. And of course, there’s the ever-looming threat of becoming another climate casualty.
