Flower of Kent

{{short description|Reputed to be the apple cultivar that inspired Isaac Newton's apple analogy of gravitation}}

{{distinguish|Beauty of Kent (apple)}}

File:Newton's tree, Botanic Gardens, Cambridge.JPG. Erroneously photographed with an apple of the "Red Delicious" variety.]]

The Flower of Kent is a green cultivar of cooking apple. It is pear-shaped, mealy, and sub-acid, and of generally poor quality by today's standards. As its name suggests, this cultivar likely originated from Kent, England.[http://www.orangepippin.com/apples/sir-isaac-newtons-tree Sir Isaac Newton's Tree] at Orange Pippin

Though now largely gone from commercial cultivation, a handful of Flower of Kent trees remain. Most, if not all, are said to descend from trees at Newton's Woolsthorpe Manor, and nearly all that exist descend from a single tree in East Malling, Kent. One such tree is located in the President's Garden at MIT, although it is known to have produced only one apple.{{citation |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/12/this_apple_proved_too_tempting/ |title=This apple proved too tempting: Rare fruit nabbed from tree at MIT}} Currently, this cultivar remains available at Antique Apple Orchard Inc. in Sweet Home, Oregon.{{Cite web |url=http://www.allaboutapples.com/orchard/or01.htm |title=All About Apples |access-date=2009-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814113409/http://www.allaboutapples.com/orchard/or01.htm |archive-date=2009-08-14 |url-status=dead }}

According to the story, this is the apple Isaac Newton saw falling to ground from its tree, inspiring his laws of universal gravitation.

The National Fruit Collection at Brogdale[http://www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full.php?id=2946&&fruit=Apple Brogdale – Home of the National Fruit Collection] contains an example, listed as "Isaac Newton's Tree" (1948-729).