On a cold, sunny day in December, Jean-Michel Poutissou paused to admire the six apple trees that he once fought to save.

Poutissou came to Vancouver in October 1972 when the trees on the campus of physics laboratory TRIUMF were mere saplings. The trees are scions of the same tree that Sir Isaac Newton is said to have sat under as he pondered gravity.

Poutissou, a researcher emeritus at TRIUMF, said the trees sa国际传媒渨ere happily growingsa国际传媒� until the mid-1990s when condo developers wanted a straight road from the campus to the homes. The trees were in danger of being axed.

sa国际传媒淣obody (involved in the development) cared too much about Newton apple trees,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淔or them, they were in the way.sa国际传媒�

It took a campaign to convince the president of the University of British Columbia, where TRIUMF is located, to intervene and save the roundabout where the trees are planted, he said.

Now nearly 50 years old, the trees are covered in buds that will fatten over the winter before bursting into fruit.

Poutissou said hesa国际传媒檚 tasted the apples but that was a long time ago and he doesnsa国际传媒檛 remember their exact flavour.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not quite unlike a McIntosh but donsa国际传媒檛 hold me to that,sa国际传媒� he said with a laugh.

The treessa国际传媒� journey began sometime in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Letters between the University of British Columbia and the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, England, show that on the day two grafts of the trees arrived in Vancouver on an Air Canada flight on Jan. 4, 1971, the ground was covered in more than 50 centimetres of snow.

The two cuttings were further grafted and now six trees sit on the TRIUMF campus.

Today, the National Trust in the U.K. is the custodian of the original apple tree at Woolsthorpe Manor, where Newton considered the laws of gravity. The tree is called Flower of Kent, a traditional variety, which produces cooking apples of varying sizes.

An email from the organization says there are many universities around the world that have twins of the original tree. Itsa国际传媒檚 not known how the idea to send universities Newtonsa国际传媒檚 apple trees came about and there doesnsa国际传媒檛 seem to be a tradition or policy, it says.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 likely this was spread more by word of mouth between universities.sa国际传媒�

The tree is an icon of learning, discovery and the start of the era of modern science, the trust says.

In 1820, a storm blew over the original tree, but it survived and continued to grow new roots, the organization says.

Seeds from its descendants have also defied gravity and made a trip to space, thanks to Robert Prince, professor emeritus of the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University in Toronto.

Astronaut Steve MacLean was Princesa国际传媒檚 student. He was assigned to a space flight in 2006 and his former teacher had a task for him. He wanted MacLean to take a picture of an apple floating over his head.

sa国际传媒淚 had this idea of doing something rather humorous with this apple over his head and staying and not falling like Newtonsa国际传媒檚 theory of microgravity,sa国际传媒� Price said in an interview.

When MacLean told Prince he wasnsa国际传媒檛 allowed to take fresh fruit because of contamination, the seeds were sent up instead.

Prince said the seeds are now in the possession of the physics department at York University.

sa国际传媒淭hey may go on display at some point along with other MacLeansa国际传媒檚 artifacts.sa国际传媒�

The trees on Yorksa国际传媒檚 campus were planted in 1999.

Originally three trees were planted but some didnsa国际传媒檛 survive because of the climate, while others were damaged. Only one took root.

sa国际传媒淚t survived and bore fruit quickly,sa国际传媒� Prince said. sa国际传媒淚 was surprised at how quickly we got fruit off it.sa国际传媒�

The apples are not very big. sa国际传媒淟ike a crabapple size,sa国际传媒� he added.

There has also been an imposter of the Newton apple tree in Canada.

Two Newton apple trees at the National Research Council in Ottawa were thought to be grafts from the original tree that were sent over in the 1960s, but it was determined they were unrelated to the tree Newton sat under. The tree was a Newtonsa国际传媒檚 apple, but a variety of the fruit.

Dick Bourgeois-Doyle, who exposed the imposter trees while working on a book for the councilsa国际传媒檚 centennial celebrations in 2016, says he felt guilty having uncovered it.

His plan for a limited-edition coffee table book was going to include a memento from the apple tree: a leaf or a seed. During his research, he found that the twin from the original apple tree died possibly victims of disease or Ottawa winters, in the 1990s.

sa国际传媒淚t sort of popped a balloon because people had a lot of pride seeing those two trees and theresa国际传媒檚 a big bronze plaque in front of it here in Ottawa,sa国际传媒� he said.

To be sure, he sent off leaf samples to an agricultural institute in England, which confirmed his research.

That year, he contacted York University and was sent a seedling from one of their Newton apple trees, which is growing at the research council.

Newton probably wasnsa国际传媒檛 clunked on the head with an apple but the tree is still a touchstone linked to a significant point in scientific history, Bourgeois-Doyle said.

Newtonsa国际传媒檚 trees combine history, science, folklore and legend, which makes them enchanting, he said.

sa国际传媒淚f you can hold something in your hand or touch or look at something and that has a thread going back to Woolsthorpe Manor, it has a little bit of magic to it.sa国际传媒�

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

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