Cameron Peace, a tree-fruit geneticist at Washington State University, identified a previously unknown ancient apple tree discovered by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association on an abandoned farm. The tree's DNA matched a predicted gap in the genetic pedigree of North American apples, revealing it had contributed traits to hundreds of varieties for centuries. The discovery is significant because modern commercial apple crops rely on just 15 varieties, making them vulnerable to diseases, and this ancestral tree may harbor genetic traits valuable for breeding disease-resistant apples.