APPLES

Apples actually come from trees that are in the rose family, making them closely related to rose hips.  It is the number one fruit that is most cultivated by humans.  Its genome has been entirely decoded, allowing for apple growers to weed out disease and deformation in the plants.  Apples have even been created to taste like other fruits, including grapes and oranges.

   Because of apples' bright color and interesting shape, it has also been included in many paintings throughout art history, including many religious paintings of Adam and Eve.  Apples have been known to symbolize fertility and wealth in many paintings.  For some reason however, the forbidden fruit in pictures with Adam and Eve has always been depicted as an apple, even though geographically it was impossible for apples to grow in that part of the world.