An apple tree “son” of the one that inspired Newton on gravity flourishes in China

an apple tree “son” from the original tree that inspired the British physicist Isaac Newton to formulate his law of universal gravitation in 1687, began to bloom last week in a botanical garden in the eastern megalopolis China from Shanghai.

Five cuttings arrived in 2015 directly from Newton’s birthplace in Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, UK, and have since been planted in an insulated greenhouse, from which the strongest tree was moved to an outdoor area in September last year, reported the official newspaper Global Times.

After receiving special care to adapt to the high temperatures and humidity of the Shanghai summer, the first flowers have already sprouted from the tree and it is expected that it will produce at least three apples this autumn, something that will be celebrated with a party in which the residents they will be able to come to drink tea and taste the fruit.

“Some residents want to come see the Newton apples in a few months, and they joke that they want one of them to hit them on the head.”explained a worker at the Chenshan Botanical Garden, located in the west of the city.

Although some of Newton’s acquaintances confirmed that falling apple fruit did help formulate his theories about gravity, the part of the story that the apple hit the physicist’s head is considered a myth.

“We hope these apple trees in Shanghai can inspire future ‘China Newtons’”He indicated the address of the venue.

The one in the Chinese city is not the only clone of the Newton’s apple tree spread throughout the world, as there are specimens in various parts of England or in other countries such as Argentina, and it was even announced in 2010 that a piece of wood from the tree, belonging to to the archives of the British Royal Society, would travel into space aboard a NASA mission.

Source: EFE