Cortland is a cultivar of apple

Apple

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

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After the many attributes of McIntosh were discovered, plant breeders began crossing it with other varieties to enhance its traits. One of the earliest was the Cortland, combined with the Ben Davis

Ben Davis (apple)

- Overview :During the 19th century it was a popular commercial apple due to the ruggedness and keeping qualities of the fruit, but as packing and transportation techniques improved the variety fell out of favour, replaced by varieties considered to have better flavour...

 variety. Its flavor is sweet compared to McIntosh, and it has a flush of crimson

Crimson

Crimson is a strong, bright, deep red color. It is originally the color of the dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now also used as a generic term for those slightly bluish-red colors that are between red and rose; besides crimson itself, these colors include...

 against a pale yellow background sprinkled with short, dark red stripes and gray-green dots.

Cortland has very white flesh and is an excellent dessert apple.

This all purpose apple was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station

New York State Agricultural Experiment Station

The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, Ontario County, New York State, is an integral part of the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. It is a mission-oriented experiment station with a strong emphasis on applied research...

 in Geneva, New York

Geneva, New York

Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 13,617 at the 2000 census. Some claim it is named after the city and canton of Geneva in Switzerland. Others believe the name came from confusion over the letters in the word "Seneca" written in cursive...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1898. The apple was named after nearby Cortland County, New York

Cortland County, New York

Cortland County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, named after Federico Van Cortlandt, president of the convention at Kingston that wrote the first New York State Constitution in 1777, and first lieutenant governor of the state. The county seat is Cortland...

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Patented mutants (sports)

The original Cortland variety, introduced in 1915 by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, produced apples which were 20—30% red, and was not patented. Since then, several sports have been identified and patented:

Date	"Inventor"	Marketed as	Mutated From	Assignee	Habit	Pattern	Earlier	Color	Plant Patent Number
Jan 19, 1982	LaMont	Lamont, Starkspur	standard	Stark Bro's Nursery	spur	striped	same	same
Aug 30, 1983	Nicklin	Redcort	standard	Hilltop Nursery	standard	striped	2 wk.	90% red
Oct 7, 1997	Hartenhof	NS-911	standard	Adams County Nursery	standard	striped	same	red overall