2014Flora Fruits - First Day Cover

The domesticated apple is one of the most important fruit crops, grown extensively in colder and temperate climate. Many consider apple as the fruit above all fruits. Although modern apple varieties and autochthonous cultivars are an essential part of the inheritance of the region, knowledge about the former is becoming rarer. The Balkan Peninsula is known as one of the most important genetic, species and ecosystem diversity centres in Europe. Because of the existing variability in the region, differing ecological conditions and human activities, the Balkan Peninsula can be regarded as one of the most important secondary centres of genetic diversity in apple.