North American Fruit Trees

pie chart comparing the per capita consumption of fresh tree fruit from North American trees, such as apples, cherries, plums, peaches and pears

Additional Fruit Information
Types of Fruit

The phrase North American fruit trees loosely refers to the commercially dominant, non-citrus fruit bearing trees native to the northern half of North America, along with southern specialities such as peach trees.

The line graph at the top of the page shows per capita consumption of the fresh fruit from the primary North American fruit trees, apples, cherries, plums, peaches and pears.

In most cases over the past thirty years, per capita fresh apple consumption outpaced per capita consumption of the other tree fruits by a four to one margin. In 2010, the preliminary per capita apple consumption rate stood at 15.41 lbs/person. Peaches came in a distant second in per capita fresh tree fruit consumption with a rate of 4.73 lbs/person.

pie chart comparing the per capita consumption of frozen fruit from North American trees

Human attachment to all things pies, cakes, cookies and smoothies explains the popularity of the frozen fruit market. Chart two, a pie chart, compares the average American consumption of frozen tree fruits.

Frozen cherries anchor the average American's per capita frozen tree fruit consumption, accounting for 43.8% of total consumption in 2010.

Peaches and apples account for the bulk of remaining frozen tree fruit consumption.

Apples rightly stand out in most North American fruit tree discussions. While often touted as the all-American fruit, apples also top the all-Canadian fruit chart.

The Canadian Government reports that "Apples are the most important tree fruit crop in Canada".

North American history can often be told as apple history, starting with colonists introducing seeds and grafts of their favorite varieties.

Westward expansion expanded the range for now orchard development, with pioneers such as Johnny Appleseed remaining with us today.

Today Washington state leads the United States in apple production, growing almost half of the total.

Some North American Fruit Tree Notes:

Pears can be refrigerated for long periods of time before removing for ripening.

Three types of plum trees, European, Damson and Japanese grow in the United States. Each type exhibits variety specific pollination and habitat preferences. The European plum, for example, is suited to temperate climates.

North American Fruit Trees