Fruit

SUMMER RAMBO has the synonyms Lorraine, Summer Rambour, and in France, it is popularly called Rambour Franc. It is thought to have come from the town Rambure, near Abbeville, France, and was recorded in 1535. Large in size and truncate-conic in shape, it is lightly ribbed on the body and prominently ribbed at the eye. Usually, it is asymmetrical in shape. The pale greenish-yellow skin is flushed pale-red and streaked carmine, and scattered with russet patches. The yellowish flesh is fine-grained and firm with a subacid, slightly sweet flavor. When well- ripened, it has a vinous taste. It was growing as early as 1767 in colonial America as a dessert apple, and there is a red cultivar called Red Sumbo. The vigorous tree bears early, annually, and heavily, and has some disease resistance. The brown seeds are abundant, ovate and pyriform in shape, and the wood is a reddish-brown. Medium to large in size, the medium green leaves are shiny and smooth, oval in shape, and serrated sharply and distinctly. Summer Rambo is often confused with the distinct variety, Rambo, and other look-alike varieties. It ripens in early August, but is often harvested in July in the green stage for culinary use.