There is a convention that an organism that can't be found anywhere by scientists (with a reasonable effort) in the last 50 years is classified as extinct. In

There is a convention that an organism that can't be found anywhere by scientists (with a reasonable effort) in the last 50 years is classified as extinct. In the meanwhile is 'probably extinct' or even 'functionally extinct' (If only specimens of a sex, or unfertile remain) but is not the same category. This is a cultivar, not a species, but the idea is similar. If we talk of a fruit that was forgotten after 1920, yes, it was extinct. In any case the image of the dying tree with a last branch is suspiciously romantic, and wax fruits are not a real proof of anything. Without DNA analysis we can't guarantee that this is the real thing, could be also a seedling, a different clone mutated, or a forgotten cultivar that lost its tag, but is still sold in other place under a different name. When a fruit is forgotten there is normally a good reason. Maybe, being so similar to Cox's Orange, will show poor resistance to fungus diseases. There is no reason to reproduce a worse version of Cox (and in the article I would expect a genetic comparison between both apples at least).