Ember & Grain · Field Notes · Wood · Nº 05
Apple Wood
the first orchard
The Tian Shan above Almaty. Wild forests, a Soviet botanist, and the tree the apple came from.
In the mountains above Almaty, apples grow wild. Not escaped from an orchard, but wild: Malus sieversii, in forests on the slopes of the Tian Shan, the Heavenly Mountains. The Russian botanist Nikolai Vavilov, who searched the world for the birthplaces of crops, placed the apple’s here. Decades later, DNA studies pointed the same way.
The apple began here, wild on a mountainside.
On the salt
In the Atlas, Apple Wood is paired with Sal de Colima.
Field notes
| Also known as | Sievers apple · wild apple |
| Tree | Malus sieversii, rose family |
| Native to | Tian Shan, Central Asia |
| Home | Almaty · 43°06′ N |
| Status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Smoke | Mild, sweet, fruity · 2 of 5 |
| On the salt | Sal de Colima · E&G Applewood |
Continue in The Origins Atlas
The rest of this chapter lives in the book: the full story of the place, how the wood burns, the people who keep the tradition, and the hand-drawn map.
- The Place · the heavenly mountains
- The Fire · sweet and slow
- The Taste · mild and fruity
Sources: Wikipedia, “Malus sieversii,” “Aymak Djangaliev”; Cornille et al., PLOS Genetics (2012); Eurasianet; Atlas Obscura. Imagery is illustrative and AI-generated.