The trees were prized as tangible connections to Newton, along with the first-edition copy of Sir Isaac’s masterwork Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica retained in the Special Collections Department of the university’s Swem Library. The William & Mary Flowers of Kent were grown from cuttings from the Newton trees on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus, which came from cuttings taken from the British Royal Botanical Gardens and so on, back to the ur-tree at Woolsthorpe Manor. Isaac Newton’s tree is a variety known as the Flower of Kent. It may have been unstoppable and the excess rain could not have helped.” “The bottom line is, I do not know how much rain played a role in the death of the Newton trees,” she said, “but fire blight is a bad disease of apples. But she added that even in well-drained soil, constant rain can cause other issues such as fungal diseases on the leaves. She added that plants produce defensive compounds to help fight off disease, but marginal growing conditions can reduce a tree's energy resources to fight off disease and pests.Ĭase pointed out that her native Michigan can get a lot of rain, yet the sandy loam soil drains quickly and apple growers prosper. She explained that excess water in soils reduces soil aeration, inhibiting root growth and transport of water and minerals.Įxcess water also can start diseases directly in the soil by increasing microbial action, and a surplus of moisture in above-ground parts can hasten the spread of fire blight in flowers – the disease’s common entry point. It’s been a rainy spring here in always-humid Williamsburg and the soil drains poorly. “I saw water pooling in that site before the trees were planted and was concerned,” Case said.Ĭase is the College Conservator of Botanical Collections and an associate professor in William & Mary’s Department of Biology. Poor soils, hot humid weather and a tendency for apples to succumb to many diseases made the Newton apple project risky in Williamsburg. They were clones - genetically identical - to the tree that dropped the apple that is said to have inspired Isaac Newton to formulate his concept of universal gravitation. Martha Case says that she was always concerned about the trees, which were planted with great ceremony outside the university’s physics building in 2014.
The trees likely succumbed to a bacterial disease known as fire blight. They died in late spring and were removed by Facilities Management. Licensing Public domain Public domain false falseWilliam & Mary’s Isaac Newton apple trees no longer stand outside Small Hall. The original tree is said to have died about 1815-1820.
Sir Isaac Newton's Apple This apple tree is a descendant by vegetative propagation of a tree which grew in the garden of Woolsthorpe Manor, near Grantham, and which is reputed to be the tree from which fell the apple that helped Newton to formulate his theory of gravitation. This file has an extracted image: File:Newton's tree, Botanic Gardens, Cambridge (sign).jpg. I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. In some countries this may not be legally possible if so:
I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. Found in the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge, England. English: A descendant of the tree from which an apple reputedly fell and inspired Isaac Newton's theory of gravitation.