In 1999 a single apple tree was identified by Ian Sturrock on Bardsey Island (located at the end of the Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales).
Its uniqueness and the rugged location was seized upon by the media and it was described as "The rarest tree in the world".
The gnarled and twisted tree, growing by the side of Plas Bach, is believed to be the only survivor of an orchard that was tended by the monks who lived there a thousand years ago.
[citation needed] The list given in the 1858 Cambrian Journal includes the following varieties: There is no further record of any of these cultivars in later documents.
The study has been jointly run by University of South Wales and the Welsh Perry & Cider Society.