Court Pendu Plat apple

Malus domestica

Ancient French dessert variety, rich intense unique flavour

Court Pendu Plat apple photo tape

Parentage: Unknown, extremely old
Origin: France
Introduced: 1613
Season: Dec-Jan
Apple cultivar ID: 101300


Court Pendu Plat is old apple variety from France, with a history dating back to the early 1600s and many earlier references. It was popular in Victorian times and still has a small following.

With such an ancient lineage it is perhaps no surprise that Court Pendu Plat is quite different from many other varieties. The most distinctive feature is the strange flattened appearance. The base is highly inverted and you can clearly see the flower stalk from which the apple formed. The colouring is light green flushed with orange and red.

The flesh is very dense, not soft but not crisp either. Cutting into it with a knife feels a bit like cutting into a hard cheddar cheese. There seems to be very little juice, and it is not really apple-flavoured at all. The flavour is fruity and strong when picked, and sweetens by Christmas. It is not actually very appealing when you first bite into it, yet is strangely "more-ish", with a flavour which is hard to define. It can also be used for cooking.

Although we have no proof, we think Court Pendu Plat could be somewhere in the ancestry of Cox's Orange Pippin. The size, flattened shape, colouration, and complex flavours of Cox are all there in Court Pendu Plat, albeit in a more primitive form. Cox's probable parent - Ribston Pippin - was apparently grown from a seedling brought to England from France in the early 1700s, a time when Court Pendu Plat was well-established on the Continent.



Visitor comments

(Use the form at the bottom to add your own comments, or reply to one of the existing comments)

08 Jun 2009 16:46   Sally Bail from Somerset
We've grown this variety for a number of years. Ours are much more russeted than the one in your picture, and reddish golden brown when ripe, certainly not pale green! They are small, and very flatttened, and the late flowering means that pollination is a problem in many seasons. However they are delicious when ripe, which is rarely before Christmas. They are sweet, spicy and aromatic. The flesh is slightly dry like many russets.Reply to this comment
02 Nov 2008 14:06   Hannah Bridge from Plox Green, Shropshire
I have had an excellent crop of these apples this year, and have just started to pick them (02/11/08, after first frost). Mine are flatter and matter, like Jim's of Wakefield. The longer I have left them on the tree, the more yellow some have become - it has not been the sunniest Summer or Autumn. I was delighted to read that they are going to continue to improve in eating between now and the Spring as I found them rather hard on picking.Reply to this comment
01 Oct 2008 14:34   Jim Jackson from Wakefield
The photograph you have does not look much like the fruit I get from the tree I grow as Court Pendu Platt. My fruit are flatter, and the green base colour is more matt with deeper matt red colouring. CPP flowers very very late, often when no other apples are flowering, so pollination can be a problem.Reply to this comment
08 Feb 2008 19:26   Tim Dee from Bristol, UK
Peter Wellbery Smith grows this just south of the Wash near King's Lynn. He says March is the best month for eating. The ones i have in front of me from him (8/02/08) are already good. Discreet but deep in flavour, spiced and hard and utterly toothsome.Reply to this comment
05 Feb 2009 17:55   Nick Burrows from Stubbs Walden
Hazel, There are very few varieties that can truly be said to be pre 17th century. Derek at Bernewode Plants has done a great deal of research into the early varieties and he is your best bet to source them. Those that come immediately to mind are Nonpareil and White Joaneting as well as CPP. 17th Century apples are a little more identifiable. The best original source is John Worlidge, who wrote in the late 1600's, particularly his Vinetum Britanicum (1678, 2nd Ed). He specifically names Margaret (available from Brogdale), Devonshire Quarendon (Keepers Nursery, et al), Genet Moyle and Catshead - all of which can be sourced quite easily. The great Ribston Pippin was also planted in 1688 (Rogers of Pickering). Any or all would do very well in Bristol. It is also claimed that the greatest 17th Century apple, the Redstreak, has also been rediscovered (Brogdale, Matthews) although it remains to be seen if this can really be said to be the apple of our ancestors.
26 Dec 2008 15:01   Hazel Hammond from bristol UK
I want to buy a pre 17th c variety of apple if I can for my garden in Bristol... have you any advice on / pictures of the tree growing I can see.. where did you get yours ?? thanks hazel.


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Identification photos

Court Pendu Plat on a 10 year old espalier tree, M26 rootstock (from Jim Jackson, Wakefield, UK)

Apple identification photo

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Where to buy apple trees

The following fruit tree nurseries offer Court Pendu Plat apple trees for sale:

Where to buy fruit and related products

No fruit suppliers listed for this variety.

Apple tree register

The following Court Pendu Plat trees have been registered - click the name to view more details of each tree:

  • 18 Jan 09  Yaron Peled
    Pelynt, Looe, Cornwall, United Kingdom
  • 17 Oct 08  Lenore Greensides
    BEVERLEY, East Yorks, United Kingdom
  • 09 Aug 08  Axel Kratel
    Court Pendu Plat
    Santa Cruz, California, United States

Do you have a tree of this variety in your garden or orchard? If so please register here and contribute to our international register of apple trees.

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