The point is that Johnny Appleseed actively spread apple cultivars over a very wide geographic area (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and parts of West Vi

The point is that Johnny Appleseed actively spread apple cultivars over a very wide geographic area (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and parts of West Virgina and Ontario). Since these cultivars were no longer connected by breeding, they changed characteristics over several centuries giving rise to an absolutely enormous diversity of local apple types in the US--especially since apple trees from seed are kinda unstable genetically.