The Unfortunate Sex Life of an Apple

Published by shettychamp
June 1, 2011, Category: Biology

The apple tree was perhaps the earliest tree to be cultivated,and its fruits have been improved through selection over thousands of years.
A really interesting story of an Apple one that has survived through the centuries due to the humble application of selective breeding by diligent humans.

The humble Apple almost seems like a miracle of nature. Colourful, nutritious, and much cherished by children . It has a favoured position in the planet’s fruit bowls. The proverb “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”, addressing the health effects of the fruit, dates from the 19Th century Wales.Research suggests that apples may reduce the risk of colon cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer. Compared to many other fruits and vegetables, apples contain relatively low amounts of vitamin C, but are a rich source of other antioxidant compounds. The fiber content, while less than in most other fruits, helps regulate bowel movements and may thus reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Apples appear in many religious traditions, often as a mystical or forbidden fruit. One of the problems identifying apples in religion, mythology and folktales is that the word “apple” was used as a generic term for all (foreign) fruit, other than berries, but including nuts, as late as the 17Th century. For instance, in Greek mythology, the Greek hero Heracles, as a part of his Twelve Labours, was required to travel to the Garden of the Hesperus and pick the golden apples off the Tree of Life growing at its center.
In Germany, during medieval times, a man who ate an apple that was steeped in the perspiration of the woman he loved was very likely to succeed in the relationship.Throughout history, apples have symbolized pleasure, love, and fertility.Of course, all of this does not prove that the sin of Adam and Eve had anything to do with sex. But it is a strong indication that many interpreters throughout history did believe their sin was a sexual transgression.
Its cheerful appearance hides a fatal flaw— one that threatens its proud place in the grocery basket. The apple’s problem can be summed up in a single word: sex.