On Verona Island, at the end of a dirt road, a couple dozen wizened apple trees stand sentry in a grassy field sloping down to the river.

To the untrained eye, it's a bunch of old trees. To apple historian John Bunker, it's a treasure trove of living history.

"Apple varieties that were grown commonly in Maine, 100 to 200, to 250, years ago," Bunker said.

Cultivars such as the Tolman Sweet, Yellow Bell Flower, and Transcendent Crabapple.

Maine is home to hundreds of varieties of heirloom apple trees, but you won't find most of them in commercial orchards. Instead, these relics of the state's agricultural past are often tucked away behind an old barn or at the edge of some forgotten farm. Recently, though, several apple historians stumbled across what they say is one of the oldest living

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