Cap of Liberty, also known by the name Red Soldiers or Bloody Soldier,Copas (2001) ''Somerset Pomona: The Cider Apples of Somerset'', Dovecote, p.29 is a traditional

cider apple Cider apples are a group of apple cultivars grown for their use in the production of cider (referred to as "hard cider" in the United States). Cider apples are distinguished from "cookers" and "eaters", or dessert apples, by their bitterness or ...

cultivar originating in the

Martock Martock is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated on the edge of the Somerset Levels, north-west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The parish includes Hurst, approximately one ...

area of central

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

Characteristics

The cultivar makes a medium-sized tree with a distinctive habit, having several long, unbranching, spreading limbs.Williams and Child, "The Identification of Cider Apples" in ''Annual Report of the Long Ashton Research Station'', 1965, 82 It bears in mid season. The small fruit have a strong red flush on a yellow ground, a shape between conical and cylindrical and are of full 'bittersharp' type, being high in tannin and malic acid levels. 'Cap of Liberty' is similar to and may be related to other central Somerset varieties such as Lambrook Pippin. It is considered to be of 'vintage' quality, i.e. capable of making single varietal cider. The tree is extremely prone to

apple scab Apple scab is a common disease of plants in the rose family (Rosaceae) that is caused by the ascomycete fungus ''Venturia inaequalis''. While this disease affects several plant genera, including '' Sorbus, Cotoneaster,'' and '' Pyrus'', it is ...

, with some scab and consequent die-back being almost always present. It also has some susceptibility to canker. It was little planted after the 1920s and by the 1960s it was commented by

Long Ashton Research Station Long Ashton Research Station (LARS) was an agricultural and horticultural government-funded research centre located in the village of Long Ashton near Bristol, UK. It was created in 1903 to study and improve the West Country cider industry an ...

staff that the "few remaining trees f 'Cap of Liberty'are old", but the variety is now available from some commercial growers.

References

{{apples Apple cultivars Cider apples British apples