Fruit

HYSLOP CRAB is of unknown origin and was recorded in 1869. It is also called Hyslop Crabapple and is sometimes spelled Hislop. From Beach's Apples of New York, 1905: "Fruit large, very brilliantly colored, dark red or purplish overspread with thick blue bloom; borne in clusters. The tree is a good grower, very hardy and a reliable cropper, yielding good crops biennially, or in some cases annually. It is desirable both for home use and for market." The tree bark is an olive-green color, and the shiny leaves are waved and sharply serrated. Shoots grow in a zigzag manner, and stems are long and slender. The yellow flesh sometimes is tinged red next to the skin and is very firm. When first ripe, it is juicy, but then quickly becomes dry and mealy. It is subacid and astringent and typically contains 11.84% sugar that can ferment to about 5% alcohol. Particularly good for jelly, pickling, and cider blending, it ripens in late August in Virginia