Taxon ID:
Usage Facet: class=edible; edible_score=1.0; ornamental_score=0.0; inferred_from_taxon=no
Relationships: 0 | Linked Entities (visible): 0 | Evidence claims: 15 | History events: 0 | Catalog issue offerings: 0
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Evidence Badge: emerging | claims=15 | sources=2 | contradictions=0
Claim Types: description_snippet:3, fruit_size:2, selection_origin_reference:2, breeder_reference:1, flavor_profile:1, fruit_color:1, productivity:1, storage_duration:1, taxon_context:1 | Open evidence summary JSON | Open citation drawer JSON
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Speer is described in South Dakota plum records as an Americana plum, a wild variety obtained from J. A. Speer of Cedar Falls, Iowa. In the old Station orchard, the trees were reported hardy and productive enough to overbear, but the fruit was considered too small to rank highly. A 1903 report from H. C. Warner of Forestburg, South Dakota, also called it too small. [S2]
The plum record gives a brief but clear fruit description: the crop tends to run small, and the best fruit is only medium or smaller. This suggests a hardy utility plum with limited value where larger fruited Americanas were available. No fuller description of color, flavor, season, or culinary use appears in the supplied plum source. [S2]
A separate apple bulletin also includes a cultivar named Speer. It is described as an apple of Russian source, named by the Iowa State Horticultural Society in honor of R. P. Speer of Cedar Falls, Iowa. The apple is said to be above medium to large, roundish and somewhat oblate, rich golden yellow, with white flesh that is juicy, crisp, sprightly acid, and good, and of late fall season. [S1]
These records should not be merged. The plum source identifies Speer as an Americana plum. The apple source describes a distinct apple cultivar with the same name and the same Cedar Falls association. [S1] [S2]
Summary source basis
This summary currently draws chiefly from A Study of Northwestern Apples, with 1 additional supporting sources linked below.
Featured source descriptions
“The source material from which it arose was received from Russia.”
— [1]
“Awild variety from J. A. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa.”
— [2]
“Cavity regular, obtuse, slightly russeted; stem medium, stout; basin smooth, wide, deep, very abrupt, forming a cup with a few prominences in bottom; calyx closed, segments erect convergent, very large and leafy.”
— [1]
“Listed under Flesh white or whitish, tube funnel-shaped; stamens marginal, surface uneven.”
— [1]
Direct parent cultivars
Parentage claim text
Derived or downstream cultivar links
Source-story quotations
Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.
Related cultivars mentioned in source context
Zone assertions are structured rows. Hardiness claim text appears in evidence claims and page-linked citations.
| Zone Min | Zone Max | Zone Text | Assertion Type | Outcome | Location | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No explicit zone assertion rows yet. | ||||||
No linked media assets.
| Document | Title/URL | Rights | Claims | Relationships | History Events | Pages | Snippets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | A Study of Northwestern Apples | unknown | 8 | 0 | 0 | p101 p138 | Fruit surface may be uneven; stamens marginal.; Maturity period listed as late fall.; Flavor described as sprightly, acidic, good.; Stem medium, stout; basin smooth, wide, deep, very abrupt and cup-forming; calyx closed |
| 17 | Plums in South Dakota | unknown | 7 | 0 | 0 | p38 | H. C. Warner of Forestburg, South Dakota, reported in 1903 that this variety was too small.; The fruit runs too small; at its best the size is medium or below.; In the old Station orchard the trees overbear.; In the old |
| Document | Page | Claim Type | Claim | Quote | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | p138 | description_snippet | Fruit surface may be uneven; stamens marginal. | Stamens marginal, surface uneven ... Speer | page_block:0.90 |
| 14 | p101 | storage_duration | Maturity period listed as late fall. | Speer—Astray variety in some scions of another variety received from Russia. Named in honor of R. P. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa, by the Iowa State Horticultural Society—Fruit above medium to large, roundish somewhat oblate | page_block:0.90 |
| 14 | p101 | flavor_profile | Flavor described as sprightly, acidic, good. | Speer—Astray variety in some scions of another variety received from Russia. Named in honor of R. P. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa, by the Iowa State Horticultural Society—Fruit above medium to large, roundish somewhat oblate | page_block:0.90 |
| 14 | p101 | description_snippet | Stem medium, stout; basin smooth, wide, deep, very abrupt and cup-forming; calyx closed with large leafy erect-convergent segments; core closed clasping; flesh white, juicy, crisp, | Speer—Astray variety in some scions of another variety received from Russia. Named in honor of R. P. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa, by the Iowa State Horticultural Society—Fruit above medium to large, roundish somewhat oblate | page_block:0.90 |
| 14 | p101 | fruit_color | Skin color is rich golden yellow with many minute raised dots; dots are numerous and often obscure. | Speer—Astray variety in some scions of another variety received from Russia. Named in honor of R. P. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa, by the Iowa State Horticultural Society—Fruit above medium to large, roundish somewhat oblate | page_block:0.90 |
| 14 | p101 | fruit_size | Fruit is above medium to large, roundish, somewhat oblate, regular. | Speer—Astray variety in some scions of another variety received from Russia. Named in honor of R. P. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa, by the Iowa State Horticultural Society—Fruit above medium to large, roundish somewhat oblate | page_block:0.90 |
| 14 | p101 | breeder_reference | Named in honor of R. P. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa, by the Iowa State Horticultural Society. | Speer—Astray variety in some scions of another variety received from Russia. Named in honor of R. P. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa, by the Iowa State Horticultural Society—Fruit above medium to large, roundish somewhat oblate | page_block:0.90 |
| 14 | p101 | selection_origin_reference | Labeled as a stray variety received from Russia. | Speer—Astray variety in some scions of another variety received from Russia. Named in honor of R. P. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa, by the Iowa State Horticultural Society—Fruit above medium to large, roundish somewhat oblate | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p38 | description_snippet | H. C. Warner of Forestburg, South Dakota, reported in 1903 that this variety was too small. | Speer, Americana. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p38 | fruit_size | The fruit runs too small; at its best the size is medium or below. | Speer, Americana. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p38 | productivity | In the old Station orchard the trees overbear. | Speer, Americana. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p38 | entry_hardiness_observation | In the old Station orchard the trees have proven hardy. | Speer, Americana. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p38 | entry_location | The source location given is Cedar Falls, Iowa. | Speer, Americana. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p38 | selection_origin_reference | Awild variety from J. A. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa. | Speer, Americana. | page_block:0.90 |
| 17 | p38 | taxon_context | Speer is listed as an Americana plum. | Speer, Americana. | page_block:0.90 |
| Year | Nursery | Catalog Issue | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| No catalog issue offerings linked. | |||
| Relation | Type | ID | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| No linked entities at this filter level. | |||
| Type | Claim | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| description_snippet | Fruit surface may be uneven; stamens marginal. | 0.76 |
| storage_duration | Maturity period listed as late fall. | 0.95 |
| flavor_profile | Flavor described as sprightly, acidic, good. | 0.94 |
| description_snippet | Stem medium, stout; basin smooth, wide, deep, very abrupt and cup-forming; calyx closed with large leafy erect-convergent segments; core closed clasping; flesh white, juicy, crisp, sprightly acid. | 0.95 |
| fruit_color | Skin color is rich golden yellow with many minute raised dots; dots are numerous and often obscure. | 0.96 |
| fruit_size | Fruit is above medium to large, roundish, somewhat oblate, regular. | 0.97 |
| breeder_reference | Named in honor of R. P. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa, by the Iowa State Horticultural Society. | 0.98 |
| selection_origin_reference | Labeled as a stray variety received from Russia. | 0.97 |
| description_snippet | H. C. Warner of Forestburg, South Dakota, reported in 1903 that this variety was too small. | 0.95 |
| fruit_size | The fruit runs too small; at its best the size is medium or below. | 0.96 |
| productivity | In the old Station orchard the trees overbear. | 0.94 |
| entry_hardiness_observation | In the old Station orchard the trees have proven hardy. | 0.96 |
| entry_location | The source location given is Cedar Falls, Iowa. | 0.95 |
| selection_origin_reference | A wild variety from J. A. Speer, Cedar Falls, Iowa. | 0.96 |
| taxon_context | Speer is listed as an Americana plum. | 0.98 |
| ID | Type | Year | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| No history events. | |||