June 9 (UPI) — Curious visitors are flocking to a New Zealand produce store to catch a glimpse of a rare chimera apple that is half red and half yellow.
The apple, with colors split almost perfectly down the middle, was found in a mid-May delivery of Red Braeburn apples at the Sunshine Corner Market in the Christchurch suburb of Mairehau.
Chimera apples, believed to occur in less than one in a million fruits, result from a genetic mutation that causes the apple to form from cells from two different genetic backgrounds.
The store’s owner, Heather, said the apple has become something of a local celebrity.
“People have gone home, told their other half, and they haven’t believed them, so they’ve come back with them,” she told the New Zealand Herald. “Lots of people are really excited and have taken photos of it — it’s just captured people’s imagination.”
Heather said the bi-colored apple is the first of its kind that she’s ever seen.
“We’ve been in the game a long time, never seen one like it,” she said.
She said some customers have even asked to touch the apple for luck before entering contests.
Heather said the apple’s shelf life has been extended by spending time in the refrigerator, but the time is soon approaching to decide whether it can be permanently preserved or whether it will be cut open to see what the inside looks like.
