Madrona Murphy
@arbutocrat.bsky.social
Mercenary botanist (mostly for @kwiaht.org), local scientist, pro-abortion, nerd, stoic, ecofeminist killjoy, irreverent descendant of Puritan colonists, she/her; moreover, ICE must be destroyed.
The picnic table is back! It took a trailer and a backhoe to get it there (and presumably to take it out) since it is topped with heavy aggregate. The community rejoices (but doesn't seem to be forgetting that is was removed without consultation or that the neighbor is encroaching). Not my photo
November 13, 2025 at 7:52 PM
The picnic table is back! It took a trailer and a backhoe to get it there (and presumably to take it out) since it is topped with heavy aggregate. The community rejoices (but doesn't seem to be forgetting that is was removed without consultation or that the neighbor is encroaching). Not my photo
I'm trying to track down confidently identified trees of Monmouth Pippin (different than Monmouth Beauty) sometimes also called Red Cheek.
November 3, 2025 at 6:07 PM
I'm trying to track down confidently identified trees of Monmouth Pippin (different than Monmouth Beauty) sometimes also called Red Cheek.
Peck's Pleasant! I've been wanting to try this apple for years, but only had confidently identified trees this year. Nice and sweet and juicy. The tree was covered in large apples.
November 1, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Peck's Pleasant! I've been wanting to try this apple for years, but only had confidently identified trees this year. Nice and sweet and juicy. The tree was covered in large apples.
Golden Ball, living up to its name. I just had the opportunity to talk with the legendary John Bunker about this variety and how it relates (or doesn't) to Fall Pippin!
October 3, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Golden Ball, living up to its name. I just had the opportunity to talk with the legendary John Bunker about this variety and how it relates (or doesn't) to Fall Pippin!
These crabapple crosses (Arkansas Black crossed with probably Malus baccata) fall off the tree when ripe and spoil quickly, but they are tasty when fresh, press into lovely cider, and are undeniably pretty.
October 3, 2025 at 2:19 PM
These crabapple crosses (Arkansas Black crossed with probably Malus baccata) fall off the tree when ripe and spoil quickly, but they are tasty when fresh, press into lovely cider, and are undeniably pretty.
These Pewaukee apples aren't ripe yet, but they all have a delightful fleshy bump next to the stem. Very distinctive. So far we have only found this variety in one orchard on San Juan, but in that orchard remnant all the trees are Pewaukee.
October 3, 2025 at 2:14 PM
These Pewaukee apples aren't ripe yet, but they all have a delightful fleshy bump next to the stem. Very distinctive. So far we have only found this variety in one orchard on San Juan, but in that orchard remnant all the trees are Pewaukee.
And a modest sized Gloria Mundi just before it was chopped to add to dinner
October 3, 2025 at 1:47 AM
And a modest sized Gloria Mundi just before it was chopped to add to dinner
An incredible Blue Pearmain crop to come on the tree where I collected my cutting.
October 3, 2025 at 12:08 AM
An incredible Blue Pearmain crop to come on the tree where I collected my cutting.
A very underripe Blue Pearmain on my tiny grafted tree
October 3, 2025 at 12:04 AM
A very underripe Blue Pearmain on my tiny grafted tree
My favorite rediscovered variety: Glowing Coal. It seems to have been popular in Western Washington orchards in the teens and 20s and is now virtually unknown. I am hoping to change that!
October 2, 2025 at 11:24 PM
My favorite rediscovered variety: Glowing Coal. It seems to have been popular in Western Washington orchards in the teens and 20s and is now virtually unknown. I am hoping to change that!
In 1905 a particularly red sport of Gravenstein was discovered and marketed in Olga on east Orcas. This apple is from an ancient tree in Friday Harbor, and might have been one of the first Olga Red Gravensteins sold.
October 2, 2025 at 10:59 PM
In 1905 a particularly red sport of Gravenstein was discovered and marketed in Olga on east Orcas. This apple is from an ancient tree in Friday Harbor, and might have been one of the first Olga Red Gravensteins sold.
Another seedling, not sure what crossed to make this one. It tastes like a crisper version of Winter Banana. I will be going back for cuttings (and genetic fingerprinting)
October 2, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Another seedling, not sure what crossed to make this one. It tastes like a crisper version of Winter Banana. I will be going back for cuttings (and genetic fingerprinting)
How about a unique cross between Twenty Ounce and Jonathan? Orchard apples have been growing in the San Juan Islands since the 1840s, plenty of time for new varieties to emerge. We haven't yet found living Jonathan trees in old island orchards, so Jonathan is the "ghost" parent of this tree
October 2, 2025 at 8:02 PM
How about a unique cross between Twenty Ounce and Jonathan? Orchard apples have been growing in the San Juan Islands since the 1840s, plenty of time for new varieties to emerge. We haven't yet found living Jonathan trees in old island orchards, so Jonathan is the "ghost" parent of this tree
I used to think that Gravensteins were early apples, but they are really the beginning of the main apple season here. Lodi, Red Astrachan, Yellow Transparent, Transcendent crabapple, and "Eastsound Rose" all ripen well before Gravenstein
October 2, 2025 at 7:51 PM
I used to think that Gravensteins were early apples, but they are really the beginning of the main apple season here. Lodi, Red Astrachan, Yellow Transparent, Transcendent crabapple, and "Eastsound Rose" all ripen well before Gravenstein
This is Mei Mei from Washington State.
September 2, 2025 at 2:29 PM
This is Mei Mei from Washington State.
What happens when early Yellow Transparent crosses with late Wagener? "Eastsound Rose" (provisional name), an early yellow apple that tastes like roses (and this year also had a rose blush from the sun).
August 30, 2025 at 5:18 PM
What happens when early Yellow Transparent crosses with late Wagener? "Eastsound Rose" (provisional name), an early yellow apple that tastes like roses (and this year also had a rose blush from the sun).
Just because they turned out beautifully; salal pickled onions
August 17, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Just because they turned out beautifully; salal pickled onions
I haven't sampled the fruit of these trees, but I expect every student at Spring Street International School has eaten them: Glowing Coal an uncommon heritage variety from the East Coast (New York or New Jersey probably) sometime prior to 1895. Painting from USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
August 17, 2025 at 7:54 PM
I haven't sampled the fruit of these trees, but I expect every student at Spring Street International School has eaten them: Glowing Coal an uncommon heritage variety from the East Coast (New York or New Jersey probably) sometime prior to 1895. Painting from USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
This is maddening (and cultural appropriation). Not all controlled burns are cultural burns. If native experts aren't in charge of the fire, it is not a cultural burn it's just a prescribed fire.
July 25, 2025 at 2:10 PM
This is maddening (and cultural appropriation). Not all controlled burns are cultural burns. If native experts aren't in charge of the fire, it is not a cultural burn it's just a prescribed fire.
This is Mei Mei, I am a botanist and she's named after Primus mume (but mostly 'cause she's a cute princess as was born during the lunar New Year)
July 11, 2025 at 7:37 PM
This is Mei Mei, I am a botanist and she's named after Primus mume (but mostly 'cause she's a cute princess as was born during the lunar New Year)
Blackcap (Rubus leucodermis) season
July 9, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Blackcap (Rubus leucodermis) season
If you see this post a flower
June 1, 2025 at 3:21 PM
If you see this post a flower
Three years ago she was apparently an invisible kitten
May 7, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Three years ago she was apparently an invisible kitten