Herefordshire Russet apple
Malus domestica
A late-season dessert apple, medium-sized and slightly flattened, with a warm golden-brown russet covering most of a yellow-green skin. The flesh is firm, cream-coloured and juicy, with a nutty, aromatic sweet-sharp flavour that deepens in store. A modern English cultivar grown in gardens and small orchards rather than found wild.
Not a wild plant. Grown in gardens, allotments and small orchards across Britain and Ireland, and occasionally found as a stray tree on hedge banks, railway sides and waste ground where a core has been discarded.
The fruit is a straightforward eating apple, raw or cooked. The pips contain cyanogenic compounds and are best not chewed in quantity, particularly by children. Garden and orchard trees may have been sprayed, and windfalls bruise and rot quickly, so pick from the tree where you can.
Always use more than one reference to confirm a plant. You are responsible for what you choose to forage.
Skin
A dry, slightly rough golden-brown russet over a yellow-green ground, usually covering two-thirds or more of the fruit. Unlike the light freckled russeting seen on many Cox-type apples, here the russet is the dominant surface, not a patch on it.
Flesh and flavour
Firm, cream to pale yellow, breaking rather than mealy when bitten. The flavour is nutty and aromatic with a clear acid edge; a bland, watery bite usually means the fruit was picked well before ripeness.
Fruit shape and size
Medium, roundish and a little flattened, with a short stalk sitting in a shallow, russet-lined cavity. Not conical or ribbed like a cooking apple such as Bramley.
Ripeness test
Cup the fruit and lift it towards the horizontal; a ripe apple releases at the spur without twisting. Pips should be dark brown throughout — pale pips mean it needs another fortnight on the tree.
Updated 2026-08-07T20:30:48.521Z · Part of the shared Foragers Log catalogue · Fruit