This family tree shows how the various popular varieties of New Zealand apples have been bred. They originated with the Cox’s Orange Pippin from the United Kingdom, and the Delicious variety from the United States. Royal gala and braeburn are both hugely popular varieties. My personal favourite though is the crisp and tangy golden delicious.

It’s just one of hundreds of beautiful images, graphs, video and audio resources that form Te Ara – the online encyclopedia of New Zealand. Te Ara has launched their new section of the site The Settled Landscape, which looks at the agriculture, horticulture and the general taming of New Zealand.  Their section on  The Bush is a luscious look at the unique flora and fauna here – more about that some other time. The encyclopedia is an incredible resource and hours of fun.

Come for the pictures stay for the fascinating info. There’s sooooo much for a horticulturally-minded wee thing to enjoy…..