The true Hewe’s Virginia Crab, Arlington County, VA, 1927

Here’s a surprise: the iconic historic American cider apple that we’ve been calling Hewe’s Virginia Crab (aka ‘Hughes Crab’) for years turns out to be an imposter. Along with everyone else, we’ve been wrong. Although it is a Virginia Crab, it is not Hewe’s Virginia Crab. Somewhere in the distant past, the two were mixed up, and the Hewe’s Virginia Crab label was hung on the wrong tree.

For those of you who think you have Hewe’s, you don’t. But don’t cut yours down. The Hewe’s imposter is a decent cider apple. The fruit is small, and the tree is incredibly vigorous and productive.

We have two trees in our Finley Lane orchard. I had been somewhat suspicious of the identification over the years but had never done a deep dive into the cultivar. The mix-up has now brought to light in an extensively researched article in the Journal of the American Pomological Society by David Zakalik and his professor, Greg Peck: Mistaken Identity: Correcting the Conflation of Malus ‘Virginia Crab’ with Malus ‘Hughes Crab’.

So what happened to the true Hewe’s Virginia Crab? It’s a mystery. For anyone looking to tackle a major fruit exploring challenge, this would be a truly incredible find!